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THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

LONDON IN MINIATURE
VOL. II

THE MICROCOSM OF
LONDON

LONDON IN MINIATURE

VOLUME II

WITH THIRTY-TWO ILLUSTRATIONS BY PUCIN AND ROWLANDSON

METHUEN & CO.

LONDON

1904

l'/
1 >

NOTE

' I "HIS Issue is founded on the original Edition
published by Rudolph Ackermann.

Bfi

/•£

R.ACKEaiMANN.

INTKODUCTION

AT the commencement of a second volume, the proprietor
of the MICROCOSM OF LONDON presents himself to the
public with a confidence resulting from the kind pro-
tection which they have extended to the work, and from a strong
conviction with which he is impressed, that their satisfaction is
mutual.

When the proposals for this work were first published, he
could offer no other pledge in return for the confidence he
solicited, but what might be supposed to arise from the execu-
tion of other works in which he had been engaged, and from
the acknowledged merit of the persons employed ; but he flatters
himself he shall not at this period be accused of vanity, if he
appeals to the work itself for a proof of the anxious punctuality
with which he has endeavoured to discharge his engagements,
and to merit a continuance of public approbation. That
patronage which has already been so generously extended to
him, and the high honour of being permitted to dedicate this
work to one of the best judges, as well as the most liberal
encouragers of the polite arts, so far from permitting the pro-
prietor to relax in his efforts, will, on the contrary, excite him

x INTRODUCTION

to leave no means unemployed to communicate pleasure and
information to his readers, and to present them with a second
volume equally distinguished for the elegance of the plates with
which it is embellished, the accuracy of the information it
conveys, and the variety of entertainment as well as novelty
it affords, so far as the subjects which his plan embraces will
permit.

He has to apologize for two deviations from the plan originally
proposed. The one by exchanging some of the subjects for
others which have been considered as more interesting, either
from the information by which they may be accompanied, or as
affording more picturesque subjects for the plates. The other
alteration is, the having formed the work into three volumes
instead of four, although the number of plates is the same, and
the letter-press, both in importance and quantity, more consider-
able than was originally proposed : the reasons for this were
stated to the subscribers when the sixth number was published.

There has been another alteration indeed, of which it becomes
the proprietor to say a few words. He was anxious to render
this work to the public at as moderate a price as possible, and
therefore proposed the subscriptions at only seven shillings per
number, but he had not then sufficiently calculated the expence
of so considerable an undertaking ; notwithstanding which he
continued to keep pace, and even to emulate the patronage of the
public, by increasing the value of the MICROCOSM as the number
of his subscribers increased : but there was a point at which this

INTRODUCTION xi

emulation ceased to be any longer a virtue, and he was at length
obliged to raise the subscriptions to ten shillings and sixpence per
number to those who became subscribers after the publication of
the first volume ; and he flatters himself, that the manner in
which he has performed his engagement to near one thousand of
his old subscribers, without any additional expence, will entitle
him to some credit with the nobility and others who have become
subscribers since that period, when he assures them, it is, even at
the present subscription, not only very inadequate to its real
value, but that there is no work at present issuing from the press
and the pencil so cheap and so complete.

To compare it with other works of a similar nature, would
prove a task equally irksome and disagreeable ; it is far otherwise
when the proprietor has to express his thanks to those whose
assistance he is proud to acknowledge, and to the artists and
others, who have contributed by their zeal, abilities, and attention,
to the success of the undertaking.

If in the hurry incident to a publication which requires to be
delivered on a certain day, any inaccuracies have escaped the
particular attention which is bestowed, it is hoped that a candid
allowance will be made, and the intimation of such inaccuracies
will be thankfully received.

CONTENTS

OF VOL. II

PAGE

CORN EXCHANGE, THE - 13

EXHIBITION OF THE SOCIETY OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOURS 25

FIRE IN LONDON - 36

FLEET PRISON - 44

FOUNDLING HOSPITAL - - 6l

FREE-MASONS' HALL - - 79

GAMING-HOUSE - 94

GUILDHALL 103

- COUNCIL-CHAMBER - 114

- MEETING OF CREDITORS - - 123
HERALDS' COLLEGE - - 125
MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL - 133
EAST INDIA COMPANY - 139
KING'S BENCH PRISON - 161
KING'S MEWS - - 162
LAMBETH PALACE - - 163
LLOYD'S - - - - 174
LEADENHALL MARKET - 176
LORD MAYOR'S HOUSE - - 181
LORDS, HOUSE OF - 183

LOTTERY ,- - 193

xiv CONTENTS

PAGE

MAGDALEN - - 196

MINT - 2°3

MOUNTING GUARD, ST. JAMES'S PARK - 2°6

NEWGATE - - 2°9

OLD BAILEY

OPERA-HOUSE 2I3

PANTHEON - - 215

PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY

PILLORY - " 22^

POST-OFFICE

QUAKERS' MEETING - ' 236

N.B. The binder is requested to note the above, as furnishing him with directions
for the arrangement of the plates.

THE

MICROCOSM OF LONDON

LONDON IN MINIATURE

DEBATING SOCIETY

CONTINUED

IN our last number we promised to resume this subject, in
order to gratify our readers by what information we could
procure respecting societies of this nature, and to say a few
words upon the state of eloquence in this country.

We can only trace their first appearance a little way into the
last century, and, notwithstanding it has been said that several
distinguished characters made their first attempts in oratory, and
tried the infant powers of their eloquence, at some of the popular
forums, in order to acquire confidence* by practice and frequent

* A student at law, who studied at Poitiers, had tolerably improved himself in cases
of equity, not that he was overburthened with learning, but his chief deficiency was a
want of assurance and confidence to display the little knowledge he had ; his father
recommended him to read aloud, and to render his memory more prompt by a continued
exercise of it. To effect this, he determined to read at the Ministery. In order to
obtain a certain degree of assurance, he went every day into a garden, which was very
retired, and where there grew a number of fine cabbages : thus for a long time, as he
n. — B

2 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

exertion ; yet neither history or tradition furnish us with materials
to assign a great degree of celebrity to any one in particular.
The English nation are said to be partial to amusements of this
nature, and considering the extent to which the discussion of
all political subjects may be carried in this country above all
others, even with safety to the constitution, we may cease to
wonder at this circumstance. It was well observed by the lord
chief justice, at the trials for high treason at the Old Bailey in
1796, "That among the objects of the attention of freemen, the
principles of government, the constitutions of particular govern-
ments, and, above all, of the government under which they live,
will naturally engage their attention and provoke speculation."
The power of communication of thoughts and opinions is the
gift of God, and the freedom of it, is the source of all science,
the first fruit, and the ultimate happiness of society ; and therefore
it seems to follow, that human laws ought not to interpose, nay,
cannot interpose to prevent the communication of sentiments and
opinions in voluntary assemblies of men. And yet circumstances
have arisen in this country which made it expedient, if not
absolutely necessary, to restrain that freedom of discussion, which
degenerating into licentiousness, had nearly involved this country

pursued his studies, he went to repeat his lesson to these cabbages, addressing them by
the title of gentlemen, and dealing out his sentences as if they had composed an
audience of scholars at a lecture. After having prepared himself in this manner for
some time, he began to think he might take the chair : he accordingly ventures, comes
forward, and commences his oration ; proceeding the length of a single sentence, he
becomes confused — then dumb altogether ; — making a last effort, he at length exclaims,
"Domini, ego bene -video quod non estes caules;" or, in plain English, "Gentlemen, I
clearly perceive you are no cabbages."

DEBATING SOCIETY 3

in a scene of murder and desolation, similar to that by which
France had been afflicted. At the period to which we allude,
clubs and societies were formed, in which were publicly discussed
and disseminated principles more extensive in their influence and
effects than any which had ever divided the opinions of mankind
— principles utterly subversive of all the ancient laws and con-
stitutions, and inimical to the moral and religious order of things
established for centuries — principles which excited a desire of
property among the lower orders, and a disposition to obtain it
by plunder: accordingly two bills were passed in the year 1796,
which put all meetings of more than fifty persons under the
controul of a magistrate, who was authorized to dissolve them
instantly, if any subject was brought forward, which, in his
opinion, was unlawful or of a seditious tendency ; and if twelve
persons remained one hour after being ordered to disperse, they
were adjudged guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. These
two bills, on which the public bestowed the appellation of the
Pitt and Grenville Acts, or the Gagging Bills, were received by
the nation with the most evident and general marks of dis-
approbation, as being more restrictive upon the rights and un-
doubted privileges of Englishmen, than any which had passed
since the reigns of the Tudors. On the other hand, it has been
urged, that they were necessary to the preservation of the lives
and property of individuals, and the security of the constitution,
and ultimately, of the liberties of the people.*

* Mr. Burke has well observed, " That the faults which grow out of the luxuriance of
freedom, appear much more shocking to us, than those vices which are generated from
the rankness of servitude."

4 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

In an exposition of the object and intention of one of these
societies, called The British Forum, published by a manager, it
is stated, that although the acts against seditious assemblies had
expired above five years, yet such were the general alarm and
universal ignorance that prevailed on this subject (namely, that
these acts bore no reference, nor were ever applied to the
suppression of societies for debate !) that scarcely one proprietor
of a room could be found, from one extremity of London to the
other, that would hire it for the purpose of public discussion.
It is farther stated (after having with difficulty procured a room),
that on the fourth evening's discussion, on the question whether
Mr. Pope's assertion be true or false, " That every woman is at
heart a rake" between six and seven hundred of the most
elegant and fashionable of both sexes attended. On the question,
" Which is more deserving the appellation of a British patriot,
Mr. Pitt or Mr. Fox?" about five hundred persons assembled,
among whom were several of the most eminent and distinguished
literary and political characters in the' country. On the question
respecting Mr. Cobbett's assertion, that, "As a part of general
education, the learned languages are worse than useless," the
discussion continued for two evenings before an assembly of
upwards of eight hundred persons inclusive.

Upon the investigation of Sir Francis Burdett's address to the
electors of Westminster, the room was crowded with elegance,
beauty, and fashion. On the subject of vaccination a crowded
assembly attended, consisting for the most part of the medical
profession, among whom were Dr. Squirrell, Dr. Thornton,
Dr. Lipscombe, Mr. Chamberlayne, Mr. Blair, &c. all of whom
offered their sentiments upon this truly interesting subject. We

DEBATING SOCIETY 5

shall conclude this account with a copy of the regulations of the
British Forum, from the same publication, observing, that there
are several institutions of this description, and principally
governed by regulations of a similar nature.

i st. The debate commences at eight o'clock, and concludes at ten.

and. Any gentleman is at liberty to propose a question, but the proposer is
expected to open and conclude the debate ; unless in the event of a gentleman
wishing to speak, the proposer, to accommodate him, may wave his privilege of
reply.

3d. No gentleman is to be permitted by the chairman to speak longer than a
quarter of an hour, unless with the consent of a majority of the audience. Any
gentleman may remind the chairman that the time is expired. Any improper
person who may intrude himself on the audience, or whose sentiments are
manifestly disagreeable to them, may be prevented from speaking at all ; this must
be determined by a vote of the assembly.

4th. At a quarter before ten o'clock, the chairman must call upon the gentle-
man who opened the question to conclude the evening's debate.

5th. After the opener has been called upon for his reply, no other gentleman
can be heard on that evening, unless a motion of adjournment be made, seconded,
and carried by a majority of the audience; in which case any gentleman may
conclude that evening's debate instead of the opener, and the debate is necessarily
adjourned to a future evening.

6th. Upon an adjourned question, any gentleman may resume the discussion ;
but such as have not spoken on the preceding evening claim the preference before
such as have already delivered their sentiments. The original opener must
conclude the debate.

7th. All personalities, indelicate language, or improper allusions, are to be
carefully avoided.

The antiquity of eloquence in England has been usually proved
by a line of Juvenal,

Gallia causidicos docuit facunda Britannos.
It happens unfortunately, that, when united with the context, it

6 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

proves no such thing ; on the contrary, it is only an ironical
panegyric on a people, who, in a language they were scarce able
to pronounce, affected to vie with Pliny and Cicero. The true
sense appears from what immediately follows :

De conducendo loquitur jam rhetore Thule.

The state of eloquence in this country may be divided into
that of the theatre, the pulpit, the bar, and the parliament. In
the first Mr. John Kemble is certainly unrivalled : if he is not
possessed of those versatile powers which distinguished Garrick,
and enabled him to personate with equal excellence an Hamlet
or Abel Drugger, he is peculiarly gifted with powers, which
make him in some respects superior to that great actor. It is
not his form, however, but his elocution, to which our attention
is now directed. His performance of Orestes in the Distrest
Mother, is a chef d'ceuvre in acting ; the agonies of disappointed
affection, the struggles between honour and ambition, the majesty
of his action, the alternate softness and energy of his expression,
and, lastly, the grandeur and sublimity with which he portrays
the awful wildness of a disordered intellect, place him beyond all
comparison the first actor of the present day.

In the performance of Rolla he is also unrivalled. We have
seen Othello, Beverly, and perhaps Macbeth, performed as well ;
and certainly Mr. Cooke performs Richard the Third better than
Mr. Kemble. In Hamlet again Mr. Kemble exhibits his great
powers to advantage.

In the speech wherein Shakespeare has so charmingly portrayed
our nature, beginning with

" What a piece of work is man ! "

DEBATING SOCIETY 7

Mr. K. gives a fine specimen of theatric declamation, universally
admired ; there is a distinctness in his articulation, and richness
in his expression, which command the attention, and seldom fail
to excite a high degree of public sensibility.

Mr. Kemble reminds us of Demosthenes, who is said to have
had a weak voice, a thick way of speaking, and a short breath,
to correct which, the accounts we have of his efforts seem
incredible : at length, however, he became the most enchanting,
nervous, majestic orator of antiquity.

Mr. Cooke is an instance of how much may be effected without
the appearance of labour. His features are strongly marked, and
the expression of them is varied with the utmost rapidity and
ease. His soliloquies are great, and he speaks them with less
appearance of acting than any other performer upon the stage.
He has certainly acquired a knowledge which may be useful to
others, that absence of effort is among the latest acquisitions
of taste.

Mr. Elliston unites more versatility of powers than either of
the preceding gentlemen ; there is a chasteness in his delivery
that wants only the addition of that mellowness which is the
effect of experience, rather than genius. If he is not uniformly
as great as Mr. J. Kemble, there are flashes of genius which
occasionally burst forth, and tell us, that he may be in some
parts greater. He is particularly to be admired in tragedy, for
avoiding that insufferable rant and fustian of elocution, which
tear a passion to tatters. His under tones are managed with
great skill and sensibility.

In speaking of the eloquence of the stage, it would be un-
pardonable not to mention Mrs. Siddons, who unites in the

8 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

highest degree all the great powers of this art. To particularize
would be to lessen what the limits of our design will not admit
of our doing justice to.

It was observed by a respectable foreigner some years ago,
that the declamation of the English pulpit was in general a most
tedious monotony. The ministers of the church have adopted
this peculiarity of manner out of respect to religion, which they
contend, will prove, defend, and support itself, without having
any occasion for the assistance of oratory. For the truth of this
assertion, we appeal to themselves for the progress which religion
thus inculcated makes among the people of this country. The
curious observer of the present state of pulpit oratory, will perhaps
discover a higher degree of improvement in the manner of de-
livery, than in the elegance of style, or the matter of composition.

The oratory of the bar is comparatively at a low ebb : the
sweetness of Murray, and the eloquence of Erskine, are ex-
changed for the unblushing persiflage of Garrow, and the close,
logical precision of Gibbs. Indeed, the discussions in our courts
of law turning either upon the elucidation of facts, or the applica-
tion of the law to those facts, so as to bring the point at issue
to decision, requires less of eloquence, than subtilty and know-
ledge of law ; and as there occur but few instances in which the
former can be as useful as the latter, there is less inducement
for the cultivation of this peculiar talent. In the courts of equity
eloquence is even less necessary. The pleadings there seem to
be formed upon the model of the ancient Norman customs or
laws, which confined the eloquence of the bar within the narrowest
bounds, or to what was absolutely essential to the cause. By
this law, pleaders are called conteurs, or relaters. But this should

DEBATING SOCIETY 9

certainly not preclude the cultivation of elegance in manner or
language, or the suppression of those defects which take away
from the pleasure with which we attend to, and therefore from
the effect of eloquence.

Demosthenes, we are told, took no less care of his action than
he did of his voice. To correct a fault of shrugging up his
shoulders, he practised standing upright in a narrow pulpit, over
which hung a point in such a manner, that if in the heat of
his action that motion escaped him, he might be admonished,
and correct it.

But it is in the two Houses of Parliament that real eloquence
is displayed ; it is here the most important interests of the nation
are discussed with all that energy and animation which the love
of their country, or the spirit of party, can excite. If this
miscellany had been written a very few years since, we should
have been tempted to rate the eloquence of the British senate
very high indeed ; when Pitt, Fox, Burke, and Sheridan, together
illumined the political horizon. The first distinguished by that
calm and easy-flowing eloquence, which was always accompanied
with propriety, occasionally warm, splendid, and animated, but
seldom lively or pathetic ; uncommonly clear and accurate in
stating the points to which he spoke, and in collecting the
substance of what had been stated either by his opponent or
himself: he possessed an elegant choice of words, which flowed
in periods so harmonious and correct, that the omission of a
single word would seem to destroy them ; a copious elocution,
with a sonorous voice, for which he was indebted to a fine natural
capacity, improved by constant exercise and attention.

His great opponent possessed powers of a very different

io THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

nature : without effort and without art, his manner was warm,
animated, and pathetic ; more violent in his style and action, and
abounding with redundancies and repetitions : his ideas were so
pregnant, that, crowding altogether as it were to the gate of
utterance, they appeared to jostle each other in the passage.
But this was the man, whose eloquence at once rapid and con-
vincing, every one gazed at and admired ; this was the man,
whose eloquence sometimes bore every thing before it like a
torrent, and at others stole imperceptibly upon the senses, and
probed the inmost recesses of the heart.

It is more difficult to characterize the eloquence of Mr. Burke.
It was neither the eloquence of Cicero or Demosthenes, but
occasionally rivalled both. It was often great, but sometimes
very unequal ; the alacrity of his imagination was seldom
sufficiently subdued by his judgment, and he too often suffered
the vivacity of his fancy to run away with his more correct taste :
but no man possessed a more intimate acquaintance with those
parts of literature which feed the springs of eloquence — no one
had been more thoroughly nurtured at the breast of philosophy —
no one was better acquainted with the genius and spirit of the
laws and constitution of his country — no one was more com-
pletely a master of its history, which so often enabled him to
teach by example, and bring the venerable dead to the instruction
of the living — no one knew how to dilate his subject with more
propriety, to enliven it by agreeable digression, or by telling the
tale of sorrow, to draw forth the tear of sympathy and compassion.

Mr. Sheridan has exhibited perhaps altogether the most
splendid specimen of eloquence which this country affords. It
is embellished with all the brilliant figures of rhetoric, and

DEBATING SOCIETY n

studded with sentiment. It is a florid, picturesque species of
oratory, interwoven with the most elegant language, and
embroidered with the most beautiful expressions : it leaves us
nothing to regret, but that talents so great and estimable, are
not rendered more useful to his country, or more frequently
exerted.

Cicero, in giving an account of the studies and labour which
he employed in order to attain the excellence to which he
at length arrived, has drawn a picture of his contemporary,
Hortensius, which seems very applicable to Mr. Sheridan.

" Hortensius, after his appointment to the consulship, had
begun to remit the intense application which he had hitherto
persevered in from his childhood. In the three succeeding
years, the beauty of his colouring was so much impaired, as
to be very perceptible to a skilful, though not to a common
observer. After that he grew every day more unlike himself
than before, not only in other parts of eloquence, but by a
gradual decay of the former celerity and elegant texture of his
language. When Hortensius therefore, the once eloquent and
admired Hortensius, had almost vanished from the forum, my
appointment to the consulship, which happened about six years
after his own promotion to that office, revived his dying emula-
tion ; for he was unwilling, that, after I had equalled him in rank
and dignity, I should become his superior in any other respect."

There are a number of our commoners who possess an elegant
and easy flow of words, uncommon perspicuity of language, and
who treat the subjects under discussion with great soundness of
argument ; but there are few whose powers are calculated to
dazzle or surprise, or to carry us away with a force of eloquence

12 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

commanding and irresistible. There are many who can treat
common subjects with simplicity and neatness, but none who are
equal to the task of developing great and weighty matters with
energy and pathos, unless we sometimes except Mr. Windham,
and occasionally Mr. Whitbread. In the House of Lords the
late Chancellor Erskine is without dispute the most brilliant
orator ; but certainly his eloquence, and the sources which feed
it, are more adapted to forensic than parliamentary debate. Lord
Grenville employs a nervous, chastised, and dignified species of
oratory, but seldom approaches the highest regions of the art,
and is interesting without being splendid or pathetic ; he takes
an ample and comprehensive view of his subject, is argumentative
without fluency, and sincere without being animated. He divides
his subject with great exactness, and seldom overlooks any thing
that is proper to support his own argument, or refute his opponent's ;
and he unites qualities which are seldom found together, great
strength with a superior elegance. There are many other noble-
men whose eloquence belongs to the highest class, but which it is
impossible for us to characterize particularly : among whom, the
present chancellor Lord Eldon, the Lords Hawkesbury, Holland,
Lauderdale, Suffolk, Sidmouth, and Redesdale, are particularly
distinguished ; nor must we forget that eloquence which so long
distinguished my Lord Melville.

THE COEN-EXCHANGE

IS a very handsome building on the east side of Mark-lane.
Next the street is an ascent of three steps to a range of
eight lofty Doric columns, those at the corners being coupled ;
between them are iron rails, and three iron gates. These columns,
with two others on the inside, support a plain building two stories
high, which contains two coffee-houses, to which there are ascents
by a flight of handsome stone steps on each side of the edifice.
On entering the iron gates, you pass by these steps into a small
square (paved with broad stones,) which is surrounded by a colon-
nade, composed of six columns on each side, and four at the end,
reckoning the corners twice. Above the entablature is a hand-
some balustrade, surrounding the whole square, with an elegant
vase placed over each column. The space around within the
colonnade is very broad, with sash windows on the top, to give
the greater light to the corn-factors, who sit round the court
below. Each has a kind of desk before him (as shewn in the
plate), on which are several handfuls of corn, and from these
small samples are every market - day sold many thousand
quarters.

THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

A TABLE of the Corn exported from England during five years, distinguishing
the species thereof, with the bounties payable thereon laid before Parliament.

YEARS.

BARLEY.

MALT.

OATMEAL.

RYE.

WHEAT.

QUANTITY.

BOUNTY.

Quarters.

1744

20090

219862

1657

74169

231984

Barley .

449289

56159

1745

95878

219354

9770

83966

324839

Malt . .

1426264

184195

1/46

158719

282024

20203

45782

130646

Oatmeal

37366

4668

1747

103140

361280

2122

92718

266906

Rye . .

339883

69977

1748

73857

349363

3768

103891

543387

Wheat .

1455642

363908

Totals

451684

1431883

37520

400526

1497762

Totals

3768444

678907

N.B. The difference between the quantity of corn exported, and that of corn exported
for bounty, is occasioned by some that has been exported to Alderney, Guernsey, and
Jersey, and some in foreign ships, which is not entitled to bounty.

These great exports have been principally from the ports of
London, Ipswich, Yarmouth, Wales, Lynn Regis, Hull, Bristol,
Southampton, Cowes, Chichester, and Shoreham ; and the chief
countries exported to are, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark,
Portugal, and the Mediterranean ; but France and Flanders, on
account of the war, had not any transmitted, except a certain
supply sent to fill the French magazines previous to opening the
campaign, which was a main cause of the precipitate and ill-
considered treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

The total exports of the above period of five years being
3,768,444 quarters of different species of corn, may be supposed
to have produced,

at 35*. per quarter .£6,594,777

at 405 7,536,888

at45-r 8,478,999

at 505. , 9,421,110

CORN-EXCHANGE 15

or the medium of these sums being 8,007, 94&/. in either case it is
an immense sum to flow immediately from the produce of the
earth and the labour of the people, enriching our merchants, and
increasing an invaluable brood of seamen.

Prices of Grain per quarter at BEAR-QUAY and MARK-LANE
for fifteen successive years.

JAN.

WHEAT.

BARLEY.

OATS.

s. s.

s. s. d.

1742

26 to 29

15 tO 20

12 tO 15 0

1743

20 „ 23

15 .. 20

13 „ 16 o

1744

19 „ 21

II ,, 13

9 „ 12 o

1745

18 „ 20

12 „ IS

12 „ l6 0

1746

17 I, 24

10 „ 13

12 „ 14 0

1747

27 „ 3°

8 „ 12

7 „ ii o

1748

26 „ 28

13 .. J4

9 „ 12 o

1749

27 ,, 32

17 „ 18

14 „ 16 o

I7SO

24 „ 27

14 ,, i?

12 „ 13 0

I7S1

24 „ 27

14 ,. 17

12 „ 13 0

i7S2

20 „ 25

10 „ 13

9 „ ii o

J753

29 ,, 35

17 „ 18

IO ,, 12 O

i7S4

27 ,, 33

i7 .. 19

12 „ 13 0

I75S

24 ., 26

12 „ 14

10 „ IJ 0

i7S6

22 „ 26

14 ,, 15

12 „ 13 6

The two following pages exhibit an account of the weekly quantities of BRITISH CORN
sold in the port of London, eastward of London bridge, with the average prices per
quarter for one year, ending 25th June, 1808, under an act of 3ist George III.
cap. 30.

THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

WEEKS.

ENDING.

BARLEY.

BEANS.

OATS.

Quarters.

Average.

Quarters.

Average.

Quarters.

Average.

£ s. <l.

£ *. d.

f. t. d.

4 July, 1807

2991

15 3

1327

i 19 5

7789

9 i

1915

15 6

740

209

9195

10 7

1703

16 9

1343

2 4 s

5463

9 2

1065

19 2

958

264

4926

9 10

i August

654

0 0

1535

247

4267

9 o

IIOO

18 9

I223

269

4753

8 4

1259

18 8

1971

2 8 7

2410

10 0

946

17 u

1925

2 7 i

5645

8 7

569

18 i

II5I

264

3325

8 o

5 September

1307

18 5

IIOI

294

2766

8 9

93°

19 o

1024

2 12 3

2453

1° 3

IIOI

19 8

1369

2 12 II

6045

12 8

1907

2 0 5

2149

2 12 2

8258

12 0

3 October

1243

2 I II

1425

2 12 O

10162

II O

3920

220

2933

2 13 2

7926

ii 9

57°5

208

2113

2 14 4

14634

II O

5118

2 O O

1330

3 on

13811

II I

4117

2 I 0

1272

2 16 o

13345

IO II

7 November

4491

226

1189

2 16 5

10160

10 II

5804

247

2162

2 17 9

8969

ii 5

5241

2 S 8

2287

2 17 2

6838

12 5

5167

2 5 10

827

2 IS 9

3473

13 4

S December

4134

2 8 I

2569

2 16 4

7971

16 9

13059

272

2357

2 17 2

11639

18 4

9346

255

2146

2 16 II

1 1 774

18 ii

10624

247

1352

2 18 3

5558

O IO

2 Jan. 1808

5802

2 4 I

1591

2 17 8

6194

18 i

7151

2311

133°

2 16 8

8586

18 9

10461

234

I7S6

2 16 4

17533

17 10

11126

232

1758

2 15 8

17223

17 2

3°

7523

233

I2O7

2 15 9

I5634

15 10

6 February

5708

232

1128

2 l6 IO

14491

16 3

4955

248

'347

2 16 7

8374

17 o

8606

2 5 7

1237

2 15 8

10224

16 7

6854

2 4 10

1409

2 14 IO

10878

15 7

5 March

6535

240

I6o8

2 16 6

12165

IS 7

7930

2 3 i

I6o8

2 15 8

14250

15 2

9200

233

1289

2 14 3

16185

15 II

5372

224

1056

2 14 S

10062

16 8

2 April

2478

243

1178

2 14 10

2724

16 ii

5709

2 4 II

946

2 13 II

11532

17 i

53'°

2 4 10

1166

2 14 4

18398

16 i

6611

246

1176

2 14 2

15965

17 3

4233

267

857

2 14 8

12662

17 3

7 May

3082

2 7 8

1109

2 16 3

8754

18 9

3301

2 8 I

1206

2 16 8

9399

211

2941

282

1491

3 o i

1 201 1

234

1602

286

622

348

17339

243

4 June

792

284

1266

3 5 5

8917

2 5 10

1741

275

1010

354

9850

262

1460

2 5 IO

"73

346

10669

2 5 4

308

262

819

33°

10399

243

London, i^th August, 1808.

E. E.

CORN-EXCHANGE

WEEKS.

ENDING.

PEAS.

RYE.

WHEAT.

Quarters.

Average.

Quarters.

Average.

Quarters.

Average.

£ *. d.

£ s. d.

£ >. d.

4 July, 1807

1 2O

393

240

4173

3 9 ii

2 12 0

000

2960

3 13 o

322

3 II O

2 5 0

2971

3 12 7

298

4 10 i

280

2227

3 18 8

i August

159

442

260

2032

3 17 3

215

4 13 ii

297

3434

3 12 10

267

3 12 I

o o o

5512

3 ii 9

175

5 o 7

240

5208

372

225

402

2 5 o

3750

355

5 September

283

4 17 o

2 6 II

3576

3 6 5

173

422

267

2 3 8

3635

3 5 4

1 88

5 o 4

2 3 8

4183

389

200

495

142

249

4275

384

3 October

228

4 14 10

240

3767

372

390

5 ii 3

222

5722

3 5 10

434

7 4 5

O O O

6552

347

298

694

240

6359

346

191

7 13 i

243

4212

3 4 10

7 November

296

799

O O O

4140

3 2 I

293

6 15 7

0 0 O

5329

322

429

5 8 5

260

6337

370

331

6 15 7

o o o

3491

3 7 6

5 December

248

6 4 ii

260

6194

3 8 9

518

734

2 10 0

7359

3 10 8

297

687

192

258

6370

3 13 10

455

663

2 10 0

5372

3 15 6

2 Jan. 1808

423

6 18 5

299

4900

3 IS °

433

6 6 ii

000

6087

3 13 10

524

744

290

9803

3 12 o

402

5 19 6

5°

2 10 I

9140

3 12 7

368

6 18 o

108

265

4681

3 13 4

6 February

35 1

742

2 10 4

6449

3 12 7

239

6 5 7

2 12 0

5317

3 12 2

487

6 17 4

194

288

8587

3 12 7

36i

686

280

6193

3 ii ii

5 March

386

5 o 3

2 9 II

5434

3 12 3

640

6 10 5

O O O

6992

3 10 6

453

5 17 8

o o o

6196

3 ii ii

224

646

2 II 0

4731

3 10 ii

2 April

238

5 17 8

2 9 5

3263

3 13 8

254

6 S i

2 10 0

5752

3 ii i

36i

5 2 10

217

299

6311

3 12 i

246

696

119

294

5207

3 ii 6

169

5 5 9

290

5754

3 12 10

7 May

6 4 10

2 9 10

7223

3 12 II

259

5 II 2

2 9 10

6215

3 14 10

184

5 7 8

2 10 3

7910

3 14 8

107

422

284

6240

3 16 8

4 June

3 ii 9

2 13 7

5259

4 o 10

3 16 o

2 14 0

4032

4 3 ii

167

3 12 8

164

2 14 5

4862

424

463

2 13 6

4637

416

II. — C

JOHN SMITON, inspector of corn returns for the port of London.

i8 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

In the year 1770, an act passed for registering the prices at
which corn is sold in the several counties in Great Britain, and
the quantity exported and imported. By this act, the justices
of peace for each county are required, at their quarter sessions
next after the 2Qth September annually, to direct returns to be
made weekly of the prices of wheat, rye, barley, oats, and beans,
from so many market towns within their respective counties as
they shall think proper, not being less than two, nor more than
six, and to appoint a proper person to send the same to a person
to be named to receive them.

By this act, the meal-weighers of the city of London are to
take the account of the prices at the markets within the said
city, and to return the average weekly to the person appointed
to receive the same.

The lord high treasurer is also empowered to appoint a fit
person to receive the returns, and to enter them fairly in a book
kept for that purpose ; and all exports and imports of grain from
and into Great Britain, with the bounties paid and received
thereon, are directed to be transmitted annually to the same
person, and registered in proper books by the person appointed
to receive the returns of the prices from the several counties.

The following tables will exhibit at one view the quantities of
corn exported and imported from England and Scotland, and the
average prices thereof, from the commencement of this act, drawn
up from the returns made in pursuance thereof; and likewise the
average price of the several sorts of grain in each year respectively.

CORN-EXCHANGE

Table of Corn exported from England and Scotland.

WHEAT AND
WHEAT FLOUR.

BARLEY,
BEER,
MALT,

AND

MEAL.

)ATS AND
OAT-

MEAL.

BEANS.

PEAS.

RYE.

BOUNTIES AND
DRAWBACKS
PAID.

Qrs.

£. s. d.

1771. England

10089

3II66

23364

13345

3701

6170 7 6

Scotland

—

3050

11869

—

1772. England

6959

13789

23511

13321

3775

—

Scotland

—

242

—

1773. England

7637

2445

18671

10733

4430

—

Scotland

—

3°

106

—

1774. England

IS928

2416

16311

10240

3318

2260

Indian corn

l88o

—

596l 12 0

Buck wheat

—

Scotland

495

122

—

6 1 ii 10

1775. England
Indian corn

90997

4323

51394

26366

14418

4929

2722

9641 7 7

Scotland

119

—

— .

—

1776. England
Indian corn

207407
I9S7

131264

30622

40344

14605

10999

5I7II 15 2

Scotland

3247

4850

4365

543

—

1322 13 9

1777. England
Indian corn

85034

132992

2938!

29941

I337I

946

43352 2 5

Scotland

2652

9733

7233

422

—

2426 15 to

1778. England

137775

(02211

28853

21749

15620

1706

40326 4 9

Scotland

3295

1719

27690

653

—

3704 ii 6

1779. England

212765

8l8l8

29430

25459

18236

3199

51446 3 8

Scotland

9495

3959

2857

897

—

3157 o o

1780. England

208178

170440

18995

14911

6648

6305

70513 10 6|

Scotland

15874

2II2I

8026

1380

—

cwt. qrs. Ibs.

7232 3 6£

Biscuit . .

12613 I 23

—

1781. England

93601

129639

34886

15678

3116

2700

26663 13 °i

Scotland

9418

20009

6831

550

—

cwt. qrs. Ibs.

5653 10 9^

Biscuit . .

6383 I o

—

1782. England

133364

107720

19726

19719

5993

4003

42336 ii oi

Scotland

II787

20025

3590

416

—

5633 3 5i

1783. England

45169

52635

II576

10191

2701

3304

13579 o 6J

Scotland

6773

1430

249

— .

179 IS 5

1784. England

83387

66838

12366

7922

2865

5821

22925 i 8£

Scotland

5880

2790

1144

189

—

950 6 3

1785. England

I3"OS

149577

15253

6563

8821

12889

22672 i 8 6J

Scotland

1480

21640

10020

460

—

274

3848 8 10

1786. England

204160

96052

14880

10337

5494

6736

51053 17 lof

Scotland

1305

25780

4413

478

—

2830 i 10

1787. England

II9736

132224

14372

11007

6695

12683

55892 3 4

Scotland

798

6484

2727

558

—

1097 i 4j

1788. England

82586

208638

12969

9930

4583

30929

Buck wheat

121

44206 i ii j

Indian corn

—

Scotland

384

6022

1449

622

—

291

976 10 4

20 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

Table of Corn exported from England and Scotland. . .continued.

WHEAT AND
WHEAT FLOUR.

BARLEY,
BEER,
MALT,

AND

MEAL.

OATS

AND

OATMEAL.

BEANS.

PEAS.

RYB.

BOUNTIES AND
DRAWBACKS
PAID.

Qrs.

Qrs. b.

£. *. d.

1789. England

262883

315606 o

36162 o

18500 o

9169 o

39807 o

76551 16 \\

Scotland
Groats . .

5635

40059 o

6520 o

12 0

222 0

—

139 o

5999 5 o

1790. England

24256

50579 0

13642 o

10079 °

7116 o

47 o

cwt. qrs. Ibs.

IOI73 15 2

12434 o 18

—

Indian corn

5496

—

Scotland
Groats . .

239°

585 o

633 o

IO O

382 o

—

464 13 lof

1791. England

66163

36799 o

15281 o

7906 o

5388 o

3528 o

cwt. qrs. Ibs.

7168 19 4i

11834 3 7

—

Indian corn

1246

—

Scotland

2424

5260 o

1078 o

370 0

57 o

—

Biscuit . .

405

—

Groats . .

—

IO O

—

1792. England

291820

44898 o

23875 o

11593 o

5551 o

16150 o

cwt. qrs. Ibs

69426 o 4

nroi I 14

—

Biscuit . .

48560 o o

—

Scotland

5773

4229 o

1479 0

63 o

82 o

—

cwt. qrs. Ibs

cwt. q. Ib.

2609 o 7

—

52S 2 3

—

Groats . .

—

12 0 0

—

1039 i 3

cwt. qrs. Ibs.

Biscuit . .

2232 3 o

—

Groats . .

— -

—

3 °

—

1793. England

66622

4315 o

17023 o

8839 o

4508 o

511 o

cwt.

5226 13 o

40322

—

Biscuit . .

24572

—

Scotland

654

146 o

385 o

61 o

72 o

—

cwt.

Groats . .

cwt.

241

3 o

—

385 2 1^

Biscuit . .

1131

—

qrs. Ibs.

1794. England

75032 3

6328 7

12350 2

—

3240 2

842 3

cwt. qrs. Ibs.

cwt. q. Ibs.

133770 2 2

—

3552 3 15

—

5078 7 2

qrs. Ibs.

bolls. Ibs.

Indian corn

1448 2

—

87 56

—

Scotland

1446 4

3075 o

qrs. Ibs.

290 5

39 2

—

cwt. qrs. Ibs.
1360 2 2O

—

1037 5

cwt. q. Ibs.

—

715 16 4

qrs. Ibs.

533 2 6

—

Groats . .

37 2

—

___

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

CORN-EXCHANGE

Table of Corn imported into England and Scotland,

WHEAT AND
WHEAT
FLOUR.

RYE & RYE
FLOUR.

BARLEY,
BEER, AND
MALT.

OATS AND
OATMEAL.

BEANS.

PEAS.

DUTIES
RECEIVED.

Qrs.

£. s. d.

1771. England
Indian corn

2509
3

2179

228

198072

I3I70 2 I

Scotland

—

14255

—

547 8 II

1772. England

23134

4799

2107

70542

469

Indian corn

—

2393 6 10

Buck wheat

—

Scotland

2340

961

36277

Buck wheat

—

1372 14 II

1773. England

50312

9253

51221

234366

49858

3254

Indian corn

6322

—

Duty free.

Buck wheat

—

Scotland

6545

12695

95088

4002

Duty free.

1774. England
Indian corn

269235
5945

41427

155148

312908

16401

2780

12379 4 3

Scotland
Buck wheat

19914

—

16360

86591

2505

2705

1336 ii 8

1775. England
Indian corn

544641
9638

33574

126332

283827

29862

11275

18442 18 2

Scotland

16347

—

I3II9

IOIII5

1657

1658

J355 i 5

1776. England

20148

3415

8O2O

373707

19055

19776

3658 5 5

Scotland

43°

479

4859

30 12 7

1777. England
Buck wheat

233069

18454

7981

366155

35127

28702

8835 13 9

Scotland

254

—

291

—

o 14 9

1778. England

106394

9327

42514

199680

30165

27768

4890 5 7

Scotland

—

200

1490

—

!4 3 9

1779. England

4611

1693

7085

332527

I459I

29154

2849 18 7

Scotland

425

—

15984

139 18 2j

1780. England

3040

—

352

190576

7406

I77I9

1067 o ii

Scotland

873

—

4667

—

cwt. qrs. Ibs.

60 ii oj

Biscuit . .

284 o 17

—

1781. England

159696

i°743

55869

3244

14508

4275 4 9

Scotland

—

53576

—

cwt. qrs. Ibs.

447 6 3}

Biscuit . .

43 o 27

—

1782. England

79779

—

11954

33758

3619

4553

2270 2 7

Scotland

916

—

1638

4804

386

79 H 6

1783. England
Indian corn

505161

74589

87884

166231

17435

1087

17062 9 2

Scotland
Barley meal

79022

6706

57030

627II

13093

—

3547 4 3

1784. England
Indian corn

174593
46

23722

43729

176413

28047

2915

7406 15 5

Scotland

42354

1057

3453

90585

14854

—

2522 15 3

22 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

Table of Corn imported into England and Scotland. . .continued.

WHEAT AND
WHEAT FLOUR.

RYE.

BARLEY,
BEER, AND

MALT.

OATS AND
OATMEAL.

BEANS.

PEAS.

DUTIES
RECEIVED.

Qrs.

Qrs. b.

£. s. d.

1785. England
Indian wheat

97S74
15

28738 o

63666 o

285449 o

9355 o

6736 o

6249 15 6

Scotland

13289

23 o

3546 o

88639 °

722 o

—

1119 i 8

1786. England

51463

311 o

50143 o

412097 o

33912 0

1617 o

5556 2 9

Scotland

I O

12231 o

66376 o

180 o

—

714 8 o

1787. England
Indian corn

49408
28

2702 o

17783 o

395979 o

36913 o

2267 o

5061 12 2j

Scotland

993i

4352 o

25461 o

116025 o

3705 o

—

1564 7 7

1788. England
Indian corn

123238
17

10685 °

333139 o

9190 o

1092 o

5344 3 4

Scotland

25472

7794 o

80687 o

619 o

—

1321 ii 6

1789. England
Indian corn

88551
54

14844 o

8749 o

365967 o

162 o

99 °

4814 3 7l

Scotland

21950

—

2378 o

63754 o

130 o

—

1334 * 9

1790. England

174534

21683 °

24267 o

622566 o

39446 o

3548 o

cwt. qrs. Ibs.
65862 0 12

10856 17 3

Indian corn

10546

—

Scotland

25374

—

5850 o

112607 °

192 o

—

1630 6 2\

1791. England

357999

56124 o

43718 o

638968 o

12615 o

1939 o

cwt. qrs. Ibs.

113258 i 7

—

15561 18 o

Indian corn

1240

—

. —

—

Scotland

72798

254 o

17417 o

151585 o

127 o

45 o

cwt. qrs. Ibs.

3248 3 5

1517 3 25

—

1792. England

I75I5

13026 o

87915 o

818670 o

38451 o

4800 o

cwt. qrs. Ibs.

7756 3 6

—

18284 12 IO

Indian corn

5677

—

Scotland

2676

—

30610 o

189729 o

—

6 o

6327 16 4

1793. England

400458

55118 o

117439 o

587043 o

29270 o

15847 o

Cwt.

213671

bolls.

7523

—

19892 ii 5

Indian corn

—

Scotland

5723

5 o

29878 o

112416 o

450 o

2705 o

cwt.

bolls.

1821 15 8j

—

21474

—

1794. England

175021 66.

20895 2

119289 I

813814 7

89899 o

39490 6

cwt. qrs. Ibs.

bolls. Ibs.

13881 5 2

1 1 103 o 3

—

7 61

—

Indian corn

151 66.

—

Scotland

20209 5*-

I 2

6466 5

73692 2

313 5

298 I

cwt. qrs. Ibs.
13 2 2O

—

2800 19 9f

Buck wheat

8?rs.

—

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

CORN-EXCHANGE

The following is an account of the average price of Corn in England and Wales, by
the standard Winchester bushel, from the commencement of the Corn Register
Act in the year 1770.

WHEAT.

RYE.

BARLEY.

OATS.

BEANS.

s. d.

J. </.

s. d.

1771

5 iof

4 3i

3 *\

2 I

3 6J

1772

6 4

4 7

3 2

2 Oi

3 9

1773

6 4*

4 2

3 6J

2 It

4 4

1774

6 7

4 3l

3 6f

2 2j

3 i°f

1775

6 Q\

4 ij

3 3

2 Oj

3 7

1776

4 9i

3 4t

2 6i

i io£

3 3l

1777

5 »J

3 6

2 6|

«J

3 6f

1778

5 3

3 61

2 IO

i of

3 Si

1779

4 2|

2 II

2 Si

3 oi

1780

4 5*

2 gi

2 4

2 9i

1781

5 7

3 4t

2 Ij

2 I0j

1782

5 "I

3 7i

2 gf

rof

3 3

1783

6 7

4 Si

3 9l

.2 Si

4 4i

1784

6 ij

4 o£

3 Si

2 3*

4 oj

1785

5 2f

3 6

3 °

2 If

3 10

1786

4 io£

3 4*

3 oj

2 3

4 if

1787

5 if

3 Si

2 IO

2 I

3 "I

1788

5 7i

3 Si

2 9

I "J

3 4i

1789

6 4f

3 8f

2 IOJ

2 O

3 4i

1790

6 i\

4 3

3 2

2 4

3 10

1791

5 io|

3 ii

3 zf

2 si

3 9f

1792

5 3i

3 i°i

3 4

2 3i

3 "

1793

6 o£

4 4i

3 "1

2 8}

4 8

1794

6 4*

0 0

4 o|

2 7i

5 2j

1795

9 2f

o o

4 8

0 O

0 0

1796

9 7i

0 0

4 Si

2 8J

4 10

1797

6 6

O 0

3 6

2 I

3 3

1798

6 2£

0 0

3 7

2 S

3 9

1799

8 5

O 0

4 Si

3 5

5 6J

1800

14 i

0 O

7 6

5 2

8 7

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

24 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

The great increase of business at Bear Quay, and the incon-
venience which necessarily attended its transactions, from want
of room, and a proper situation for the factors and dealers who
attended the market, induced a number of corn-factors to propose
building, about the year 1750, an Exchange for their own use.
A plan was soon arranged, the money raised by a subscription
(which was divided into eighty shares), and the present building
soon afterwards erected, which has since been appropriated to the
corn and seed trade, but principally to the former. The pro-
prietors delegate the powers of management to a committee, of
whom it is necessary there should be five present to form an
efficient meeting. The shares are at present worth something
more than five hundred pounds. The income of this proprietary
is derived from letting the stands, or small boxes, to the different
factors and dealers, who pay about ten guineas per annum : the
number of these boxes is about sixty-four, and they are usually
in great request. Indeed the increase of this trade has been
such within the period of a few years, that the seed trade could
not be accommodated with sufficient conveniences at this market ;
in consequence of which another Exchange has been erected,
nearly opposite to the old one, in Mark-lane, by a spirited
individual (Mr. Bryan Cocoran), which is distinguished by the
title of the New Seed and Corn Market.

Prior to the establishment of the latter, the seedsmen had no
stands. There is nothing particular in the architecture or plan
of this market; convenience and simplicity seem principally to
have been studied. It is entirely covered, and lighted by a large
skylight, and is in other respects extremely well calculated for
the intended purpose. There are fifty boxes or stands, which

a
a

'•;

EXHIBITION OF WATER COLOURS 25

let from fourteen to twenty guineas per annum, and amply re-
munerate the proprietor for the expence of completing this
useful undertaking.

It was opened on the i6th September, 1804.

There is a duty of two-pence per last paid to the city for all
corn sold in the Exchange, upon the first sale.

EXHIBITION OF THE SOCIETY OF
PAINTEES IN WATEE COLOUKS,

ESTABLISHED IN NOVEMBER, 1 804,

Now in Bond-Street

IT has been observed by foreign writers upon the polite arts,
that so long as the impulse of religious enthusiasm to
excite emulation among artists, and a taste for decorating
sacred edifices with their productions, are wanting, so long will
a school of painting be wanted in England.

The Abbe" Winkelmann, in his History of Arts among the
Ancients, (torn. i. sect. 2.) treating of the influence of climate
upon the disposition of a people so far as it respects the arts,
says, that owing to the absence of this disposition and the effect
of climate, the English have never yet had a single painter of
eminence. The French, he says, are in the same predicament
(excepting only two painters, one of whom is Poussin), notwith-

26 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

standing the great sums which have been expended, and the
endeavours they have used to obtain perfection. The fallacy
of this reasoning has been abundantly proved by the progressive
improvement which has taken place among the artists who have
flourished in these kingdoms since the period at which this was
written (about the year 1770) : at the same time, we cannot dis-
cover any considerable alteration in the sentiments of the nation
in general as to the propriety of ornamenting our churches with
paintings ; nor have we experienced any considerable ameliora-
tion of the climate, that can justify this improvement upon the
principles laid down by the learned abbe. We can more readily
account for, by ascribing it to that taste for paintings which has
been disseminated through this country by the great accession
of wealth, which, introducing luxury, creates new sources for
its own gratification, and is the effect as well as the cause of
refinement*

Extract of a letter from GESNER to his son, then on his travels at Rome.

* "At Rome, no doubt, the wonders of art, the beauties of nature, every thing, in
short, is calculated to excite enthusiasm, and develop the mind : but look over the
history of artists in former centuries ; observe also those painters who are still living,
who have raised themselves to superior eminence ; collect all those of different nations,
who, like you, aspire to reach that goal which our predecessors have attained, and who
approach it with hasty strides, and learn from them with what continued efforts and
unremitted labour that artist must pursue his profession who aims at perfection. You
will doubtless occasionally meet with some fiery spirits, who only advance by sudden
leaps, whose vanity will not submit to a regular, though troublesome progress ; but you
will always observe, that by deviating from the right path, they get further from the
object, instead of approaching it.

" Lose no time in beginning your studies, and let the principal one be that of the
human figure, under its most beautiful form ; bestow particular attention also on the
harmony, truth, and delicacy of colouring ; copy detached groups, single figures, and
sometimes even parts of figures : but in these different studies always proceed with

EXHIBITION OF WATER COLOURS 27

All the arts which have drawing for their common basis, were
cultivated in England during the middle ages with a superiority
and success, to which the writers of those times bear ample
testimony. The discoveries which took place when the altera-
tion was made in St. Stephen's Chapel, prove something more
than was even suspected of their merit at a period long before
the supposed invention of painting in oil by Van Eych. Leo of
Ostia, in his Chronicle of Mount Cassin, written early in the
twelfth century (book II. chap, xxxiv.), speaks of a shrine which
made part of the treasure of that monastery. — "Loculus iste
mirificus argento, auro, gemmisque, Anglico opere subtiliter ac
pulcherime decoratus."

The book of the Anniversaries of the Vatican Basilica, page
345, mentions five suits of silver embroidery, of which three
were de opere Cypriensi, et unum de opere Anglicano. If the
treasures of these monasteries and basilicas, which preserved
the most precious remains of antiquity, and which, at the re-
vival of the arts, furnished their first models, were thought to
be honoured by the works of English artists, we may fairly
presume that these performances struck the eye from their

unremitting diligence and scrupulous exactness. In a word, exert yourself to the utmost,
for you have no time to lose."

This advice, so necessary to be impressed upon the mind of every young artist, seems
to have been thrown away upon young Gesner ; his studies were of the most desultory
nature, and his success was, as might be expected, in a proportionate ratio. He was one
of those fiery spirits that would not submit to a regular, though troublesome progress :
this will be evident from the inspection of a work published by the proprietor of the
Microcosm a few years since, when C. Gesner was in London, under the title of
"Military Evolutions? which bears unequivocal marks of extraordinary genius without
the necessary attention to labour and study.

28 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

superior fineness, brilliancy, or that elegance of execution which
at the present period continues so decidedly to characterize the
works of this nation. Even the partial writer of the exploits
of William the Conqueror, bears testimony to the skill of the
English women, and the general excellence of the English
artists. — "Anglicce nationis fcemince multum acer et auri textura,
egregie viri in omni valent artificio."

The ornamental splendour of the Romish religion was sup-
posed to be subservient in some degree to the improvement of
painting during the time it existed as the national religion : on
the other hand, it is said, the simplicity which characterizes the
Protestant faith gives little employment or encouragement to
the professors of this art. It is true, the fanaticism of the
Independents banished paintings altogether, even upon glass,
from the churches where they had survived the rude hands of
the Reformers. More liberal ideas have since prevailed ; the
decoration of sacred edifices seems to be less violently opposed
by fanaticism, and it has ceased to be considered as a breach
of the second commandment. There is certainly no ground for
supposing the respect that may be paid in this country to such
ornaments, will exceed the admiration which is usually excited
by an inspection of the exquisite performances of our most
eminent artists.

One of the most formidable obstacles to the improvement of
painting (at least in the higher departments), was the great
encouragement given to portrait-painting, which, from the revival
of this art about the time of Charles II. to the accession of
George III. was almost exclusively patronised and rewarded.
This may be owing, in some measure, to the personal vanity

EXHIBITION OF WATER COLOURS 29

of individuals, and the disposition of artists to make their works
a source of profit rather than fame, which led them to cultivate a
branch of their profession that returned their assiduities with
emolument, instead of embodying upon their canvass the splen-
did achievements which confer immortality upon those who have
performed, and almost equal honour upon those who record them
in representations executed with taste, spirit, and expression.

Whilst artists are content with that remuneration which por-
trait-painting affords, we shall in vain look for the sublime
features of bold composition, or the imposing graces of chaste
and decided elegance.

But wealth, the parent of luxury, introduces refinement, which,
whatever may be its effect upon the morals of a people, generally
contributes to the promotion of the fine arts, by the encourage-
ment which it affords ; this excites competition, which can alone
produce excellence. The establishment of the Royal Academy
afforded the opportunity of a more general acquaintance with the
arts in this country, and the annual exhibitions were not only a
spur to the artists, but soon became a medium through which
a more extensive taste for its productions was excited and en-
couraged. It is not wonderful, that, in a commercial country
like Great Britain, even this exhibition should be associated with
the idea of making it a source of profit as well as honour.

At the commencement of this sera (for so it may be considered
with respect to the English school), the state of painting in water
colours was certainly at a very low ebb, and might perhaps have
justified a law of the society, which excluded from academic
honours those painters who exhibited works in water colours
only. In the present state of this branch of the art, it may

30 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

be worth while to consider, whether the reasons which prevailed
at the period to which we allude, are still in existence. We are
the more inclined to press this subject upon the consideration of
the parties concerned, when we recollect, that some of the most
eminent of the academy owe no small portion of their celebrity
to performances in water colours.

In the annual exhibition at Somerset- House, it is well known
that the best room (indeed the only one calculated to exhibit a
numerous assemblage of paintings,) is solely appropriated for
pictures in oil. If this had been the only circumstance by
which the professors of this department had felt themselves
aggrieved, their complaints might have been considered as un-
reasonable ; but, besides that their works were disposed in the
smaller rooms, they often suffered by an arrangement (over
which they had no controul, and in which they were thus
excluded any participation,) that brought their pictures in con-
tact with many oil paintings, which either want of space or
influence had likewise driven from the great room. It is almost
unnecessary to mention the obvious disadvantage which must
attend paintings in water colours exhibited under such circum-
stances. It cannot escape the most careless observer, that a
painting, unavoidably circumscribed by the size and expence of
the glass, the materials of which it is composed not admitting
of that depth of shade, or force of colouring, which produces
effect at a certain distance, and a considerable portion of whose
beauty is derived from a minute attention to parts, accuracy of
delineation, and a combination of latent excellences, that require
to be investigated before they are enjoyed, must suffer consider-
ably in the estimation even of good judges, when opposed to

EXHIBITION OF WATER COLOURS 3'

half an acre of canvass, covered with the strongest tints, enriched
with the most gaudy colours, and glazed with a varnish calculated
to heighten the already too powerful effect. We are informed,
that artists who have finished even oil paintings of considerable
merit, and sent them to the exhibition, having discovered that
they were placed in so dangerous and offensive a neighbourhood,
have been obliged to retouch their pictures, and "give a browner
horror to the shade" merely to counteract the effect of this juxta-
position.

The great assemblage of chefs d'ceuvre being always looked
for in the principal room, was likewise calculated to excite a
degree of prejudice in the minds of the less enlightened, against
works of a description invariably excluded from the place of
honour. We do not mean to insinuate, that influence has any
share in determining the situation where the paintings are re-
spectively placed, although we have certainly observed works of
the greatest merit find their way to the inferior rooms.

We can fairly suppose, that considerations such as these may
have influenced the persons who proposed the original design
of the present establishment ; in addition to which, without any
reflection upon the artists, we may suppose the possibility of
deriving some profit from the exhibition of their works, after
defraying the expences of the establishment, to have had its
particular influence. The circumstance of exhibiting their works
to greater advantage, and thereby increasing the facility of sale
by such arrangements as the first page of their catalogue
announces, has, we are given to understand, been attended with
a success beyond the most sanguine expectation of the artists
concerned.

32 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

Among the rewards which have attended these exertions (we
include the result of their four exhibitions in the years 1805-
6-7-8), perhaps we ought not to reckon as the least flattering,
those expressions of almost involuntary surprise and satisfaction
with which foreigners have accompanied their view of works
produced by materials hitherto considered as insufficient to pro-
duce a picture. But the patronage of the rich and the liberal
has been extended in a more substantial manner ; the sums they
have given for many of the works exhibited by this society, rival
the prices paid for any other kind of paintings.

We have been favoured by one of the members with a general
outline of the constitution of this society. — Its affairs are under
the management of a president, treasurer, secretary, and com-
mittee, who are chosen annually by ballot. Every member
usually resident within a certain distance of town, is eligible,
though the first three officers may be re-elected from year to
year. The two junior members of the committee relinquish their
seats at every anniversary, in order to make way for two others,
and cannot again be elected till every other eligible member has
served. The present members are,

Mr. J. GLOVER, President. Mr. R. R. REINAGLE, Treasurer. Mr. R. HILLS, Secretary.

Mr. G. Barrett. Mr. W. Havell. Mr. N. Pocock. Mr. J. Smith.
J. J. Chalon. T. Heaphy. W. H. Pyne. J. Varley.

J. Christall. J. Holworthy. S. Rigaud. C. Varley.

W. S. Gilpin. F. Nicholson. S. Shelley. W. F. Wells.

ASSOCIATE EXHIBITORS.

Miss Byrne. Mr. W. Delamotte. Mr. A. Pugin. Mr. W. Turner.

Mr. J. A. Atkinson. P. S. Munn. F. Stevens.

EXHIBITION OF WATER COLOURS 33

The society, when its number is completed, will consist of
twenty-four members and twelve associate exhibitors : these
last stand in the same sort of relative situation with the mem-
bers, that the associates of the Royal Academy do with the
academicians.

They have no share in the management of the society's
concerns, nor in the profits of the exhibition, but they are never
called on to contribute to any of the expences ; their works have
the same chance of sale with those of the members, and from
this list, as vacancies occur, the new members are always elected.

Every candidate for associate exhibitorship must be proposed
by a member, and a majority of two thirds of the members
present at the ballot, is necessary for the election of the
candidate.

They reserve the power, as in most other societies, of ex-
pelling obnoxious members ; but this can never be done except
by the concurring votes, by ballot, of at least three fourths of
the members.

The profits of the exhibition, after the payment of contingent
expences, are divided into as many shares as there are members,
each member's share being proportioned to the aggregate value
of his works.

Ladies associate exhibitors, as they can never share actively
in the management of the society's affairs, are not eligible as
members ; but from the moment of their election, they become
entitled to partake of the profits of the exhibition in the same
proportion as the members, while they are exempt from the
trouble of official duties, and from every responsibility whatever
on account of any losses incurred by the society.

II. — D

34 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

If the object of this exhibition had merely been to promote
the cultivation of this particular branch of the art, or if this
object had been simply connected with another (which seems
very fairly to have arisen out of the preceding), namely, the
making it a source of profit to the artists concerned, we should
have been inclined to recommend a plan more extensive in its
nature, and more liberal in its arrangements, and we think as
likely to have answered as well, if not better, even in these
points : for it appears to us, that however convenient it may
have been to restrict the number of persons who should compose
the society originally, or to limit at a subsequent period the
number who should derive benefit from the exhibition ; yet we
cannot discover upon what principle other artists of great
eminence and respectability have been prevented from exhibit-
ing their works, who did not wish to derive any advantage from
the institution beyond the means which it afforded of shewing
their performances to the public, and thereby increasing the
opportunities of selling them. We can readily conceive, that
when such an arrangement was first proposed, many artists who
were less sanguine in their dispositions than the original pro-
jectors, might hesitate to come forward and engage in an
undertaking, the expence of which was certain, whilst its success
was doubtful ; but when the approbation of the public had
sanctioned the plan, and there was great probability of its
continuing to merit that approbation, we think it would have
been judicious to have admitted a greater number of members,
or at least to have opened their doors to a greater number of
exhibitors. The public must be fed with variety as well as
excellence ; and the limited number of artists who compose this

EXHIBITION OF WATER COLOURS 35

society, notwithstanding the utmost exertions of their talents and
industry united, cannot be expected to compete with success, for
any long period, with other societies who increase the number
of their exhibitors by a more enlarged plan. The effect of this
has been already felt, and a society upon a more comprehensive
scale has been formed in the spring of the present year, under
the title of Associated Artists in Water Colours. Their first
exhibition was held at the great rooms No. 20, Lower Brook-
street, Grosvenor-square, and met with encouragement similar
to that which the prior establishment had experienced.

The laws of this society do not limit the number of its mem-
bers, which is proposed to be increased by those among the
associate exhibitors whose works are most conspicuous. Per-
formances in miniature form a distinguished part in the catalogue
of their works ; and ladies are admitted members, who are en-
titled to a vote on all occasions, which vote may be given in
writing. Its laws in other respects are very similar to those of
the other society. The members are,

Mr. W. WOOD, President. Mr. J. GREEN, Treasurer. Mr. J. PAPWORTH, Secretary.
Mr. W. S. Bennett. Mr. J. Holmes. Mr. A. Robertson. Mr. W. Walker.
P. Dewint. J. Laporte. C. Smith. W. Westall.

Mrs. Green. S. Owen. Miss E. Smith. H. W. Williams.

Mr. Huet Villiers. F. Nash. Mr.W.J. Thompson. A.Wilson.

Many artists of great merit in the country, whose works might
have been otherwise confined to the small circle of their friends
and acquaintance, or whose merits could not be fairly appreciated
at a great distance from the capital, will now be able to call the
public attention to their paintings ; and the man of taste and
fortune will have the opportunity of drawing forth modest genius
from obscurity, and of gratifying those exquisite feelings which

36 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

accompany the pleasure of encouraging and rewarding indigent
merit. In every point of view the public are benefitted by this
rivalship, and are certainly much indebted to the spirit of the first
projectors, for a plan which is likely to prove ultimately beneficial
to the artists and to the country.

FIKE IN LONDON

THE print is intended to represent the dreadful fire which
took place on the $d March, 1791, at the Albion Mills,
on the Surry side of Blackfriars bridge. We have
selected this from the many objects of a similar nature which
frequently occur in this great metropolis, because the representa-
tion afforded an opportunity of more picturesque effect ; the
termination of the bridge, the extensive area in front, and
St. Paul's in the back ground, contribute so many interesting
parts to a representation which is altogether great and awful.

This fire raged with such unabating fury, that in about half
an hour the whole of that extensive edifice, together with an
immense quantity of flour and grain, was reduced to ashes ; the
corner wing, occupied as the house and offices of the superin-
tendent, only escaping the sad calamity, from the thickness of
the party-wall. It was low water at the time the fire was first
discovered, and before the engines were collected, their assistance
was ineffectual ; for the flames burst out in so many different
directions, and with such incredible fury and intolerable heat,

FIRE IN LONDON 37

that it was impossible to approach on any side, till the roof and
interior part of the building tumbling in, completed the general
conflagration in a column of fire so awfully grand, as to illuminate
for a while the whole horizon. The wind being easterly, the
flames were blown across Albion-place, the houses on the west
side of which were considerably scorched, and the inhabitants
greatly alarmed. In the lane adjoining the mills, one house was
burnt to the ground, and others considerably damaged.

Fortunately no lives were lost, but the property consumed was
very great ; four thousand sacks of corn were on the premises, of
which only thirty were not destroyed.

The property was insured as follows :

At the Hand-in-Hand ... .£.6000 Brought forward £.21000

Sun 5000 At the Royal Exchange 5000

Phoenix 5000 On Stock 1 5000

Union 5000

41000

Carried over 21000

But the largest insurance was at Lloyd's, to the amount of

2O,OOO/.

In a political sense, there is no country upon earth where the
security for life and property is so complete and extensive as in
Great Britain, and of the peculiar facility with which property of
all kinds, from the most trifling to the most extensive, is insured
against fire, foreigners can form but a very inadequate idea from
any establishments of this nature in their own country. That
our readers may form some idea of the extent of the insurance
business, and its progressive increase, in this country, we have
subjoined a table of the duties paid by the respective companies
since the year 1782.

THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

Account of Duty received on Insurances by the several FIRE-OFFICES of LONDON and
WESTMINSTER, from the Commencement, Midsummer 1782, to Christmas 1807.

YEARS.

SUN.

PHCENIX.

ROYAL
EXCHANGE.

HAND-IN-
HAND.

WESTMINSTER.

LONDON

ASSURANCE.

UNION.

£. j. d.

£• t. d.

£. ,. d.

£. *. d.

£. s. d.

£. i. d.

£•

s. d.

1782

28517 7 8

585 2 I

6461 14 9

11763 3 6

4250 4 i

3361 9 8

2959

15 2

1783

59032 19 6

2943 o 10

11977 16 ii

17300 13 4

879014 5

4442 i 7

6058

0 8

1784

47451 i 10

4125 3 4

9991 10 ii

1179518 5

7633 4 7

3012 2 II

5503

15 o

1785

51486 13 ii

655015 9

1134019 2

10409 18 7

7729 2 7

317019 3

4679

9 5

1786

48067 2 10

8925 10 i

12125 7 i

9400 8 8

7368 3 4

3128 12 10

4163

15 8

1787

48656 7 I

11710 7 o

1329919 2

8463 3 10

7246 n 4

2901 14 6

3819

7 5

1788

49520 16 9

14707 8 7

13673 7 3

8019 5 6

703015 7

2996 1 6 o

3240

15 6

1789

49529 2 4

17035 I 4

14703 9 10

7698 i 2

6633 5 o

2991 i 8

2891

19 2

1790

5138813 7

18598 2 10

1605719 3

8231 18 4

6701 19 o

3012 12 3

2556

10 8

1791

53572H 4

20197 4 o

16388 10 o

8229 10 7

6831 311

321511 4

2640

12 7

1792

56640 1 8 8

24655 4 2

20050 3 3

8591 o i

7088 1 6 7

3206 13 n

2451

3 o

1793

56704 i 5

25921 9 8

20299 I2 6

757719 9

6178 14 o

3285 3 3

2309

II 0

1794

5762917 9

27781 13 i

20742 i 8

7050 1 8 4

6583 on

3096 8 i

2136

13 8

1795

58559 7 9

28780 3 4

22773 3 8

682413 6

6291 9 10

3268 ii 4

2154

i i

1796

595" 3 9

3097816 7

22701 17 4

6488 i o

5759 7 o

3355 4 6

1723

18 2

1797

64245 9 10

34405 15 6

26845 I2 8

10051 17 5

7921 17 9

4166 on

2474

2 8

1798

82690 3 6

44881 2 I

32450 10 7

Io66l II 2

981619 2

5579 H 4

2859

7 7

1799

77065 o 7

43691 3 o

33058 3 6

8384 6 ii

8441 14 6

494415 9

1984

i 5

1800

77628 4 i

48025 17 II

35475 19 o

8564 3 5

755713 5

5297 2 9

2472

I 0

1801

80314 6 4

5'36s 4 5

36729 6 10

7951 n 8

7524 18 6

5677 710

2073

6 3

1802

81705 ii ii

49954 oio

3771017 6

7665 3 2

7907 13 7

5933 18 10

2582

19 6

1803

77589 8 3

5055619 4

37844 i 7

7961 311

8251 2 9

5102 10 4

2035

13 o

1804

80205 3 5

4953317 3

3818211 5

9069 14 2

867012 3

47I5I5 6

22IO

12 8

1805

92845 3 i i

59162 3 10

44095 13 3

I2I2OII 3

12277 13 3

6210 3 5

4783

3 i

1806

95269 8 8

60767 10 2

449731311

9728 6 i

10602 3 5

6117 18 o

5399

4 4

1807

92443 6 2

61765 2 5

45067 1 6 5

9940 0 2

10525 10 o

6852 6 2

5697

10 3

YEARS.

BRITISH.

IMPERIAL.

GLOBE.

COUNTY.

HOPE.

ATLAS. i

ALBION.

EAGLE.

£. *. d.

£. i. d.

£• *. d.

£. s. d.

1799

5319 9"

—

1800

10651 12 5

—

— .

1801

13848 3 3

—

1802

17364 12 2

—

1803

16814 4 4

7624 1 1 10

372617 9

—

1804

16691 o o

14626 19 5

119431511

—

- —

—

1805

18744 2 6

23141 511

17248 IO 2

1675 3 i

—

1806

19731 16 8

27731 17 8

19738 8 i

8179 i 4

—

1807

20281 10 n

30018 8 4

20465 19 2

11192 10 8

3031 211

1631 ii 9

- —

FIRE IN LONDON 39

With respect to the terms* of each office, we may observe
generally, that insurances can be effected upon the same terms
at either of them ; the only distinction that we are aware of is,
that in some offices, out of the profits arising from the general
business, a fund is created, of which the insurers themselves
become entitled to a dividend, in proportion to the amount of
the premiums they have paid, after a certain period. So long

* Terms of Insurance of Buildings, Farming Stock, Shipping, and all other Property,
from Loss or Damage by Fire.

COMMON INSURANCES. — Brick or stone buildings, with party-walls, covered with
slate, tile, or metal, in which no hazardous trades are carried on, or hazardous goods
deposited.

Goods not hazardous. — Goods not hazardous in brick or stone buildings, with party-
walls, covered with slate, tile, or metal, in which no hazardous trades are carried on.
Wearing apparel, linen, printed books, plate, and liquors in private use, may be insured
under the general description or denomination of furniture, without a specification of
each. Watches, jewels, and trinkets, in private use, must be separately described, but
the premium on them does not exceed the premium on goods not hazardous.

HAZARDOUS INSURANCES. — Timber or plaster buildings, brick and timber buildings,
and buildings without party-walls of stone or brick, covered with slate, tile, or metal, in
which no hazardous trades are carried on, or hazardous goods deposited. Brick or stone
buildings, in which hazardous trades are carried on. Thatched buildings not having a
chimney, and not adjoining to any building having a chimney.

Hazardous Goods. — Goods not hazardous deposited in hazardous buildings. The
stock of hazardous trades in brick or stone buildings. Pictures, horses, harness, car-
riages, and fodder, in buildings not hazardous. Ships in port, and their cargoes, ships
building or repairing, barges, and other small craft, on rivers and canals, and goods on
board.

DOUBLY HAZARDOUS INSURANCES. — Hazardous buildings, in which hazardous trades
are carried on. Thatched buildings having a chimney, or adjoining to a building con-
taining one.

Doubly hazardous Goods. — The stock of hazardous trades in hazardous buildings.
Pictures, horses, carriages, and fodder, in hazardous buildings. China and glass.

Upon common insurances is charged an annual premium of 2s. per cent. — hazardous
insurances, 35. per cent. — and doubly hazardous insurances, 55. per cent.

40 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

as the business of the offices is carried on with prudence, and
therefore with success, this plan operates in reduction of such
premiums ; but should loss to any considerable amount take place
beyond the capital retained to answer such events, it has the
effect of involving a general partnership of the insurers, who
become (of course) liable to a mutual contribution to make up
any deficiency.

Other offices, again, are entitled by charters to be called upon
for losses to no greater extent than the sum originally pledged
as capital.

Others, again, are formed by a subscription for shares, ex-
tending to a certain sum only, and the parties are mutually bound
to contribute in proportion to the number of shares they hold ;
but in the event before supposed, this agreement among them-
selves does not deprive the public who insure at such offices, of
the right to call upon the proprietor even of a single share for
the whole amount of their loss, in case the capital subscribed
should be insufficient.

It is very far from our intention by this statement to insinuate
any thing to the prejudice of offices formed upon this plan,
but state it, because a contrary opinion respecting joint-stock
companies has pretty generally prevailed ; and although from
institutions of this nature very distant indeed must be any such
apprehension, yet the ephemeral establishments which we hear
every day proposed, and respecting which the public cannot be
too cautious, incline us to be among the number of those who
are desirous of putting them upon their guard against specula-
tions of so doubtful, and, it would appear, of so dangerous a
nature. — We subjoin a list of fires within the bills of mortality

FIRE IN LONDON 41

during the year 1807, which affords the strongest proof of the
necessity and advantage of these establishments.

1807. Fires. ~£Z£ l^>7- Fires.

January 42 48 Brought forward... 193 217

February 38 54 July 37 20

March 36 42 August 28 15

April 32 36 September 28 17

May 29 22 October 24 23

June 16 15 November 29 21

December 36 43

Carried over 193 217

375 356

The number of fires may be considered nearly correct, but the chimney alarms
are not probably more than a third of the true number.

The above statement is given from the books of the British Fire-Office, for
the year ending December 31, 1807.

B. F. O. August 13, 1808. WILLIAM KING, Inspector.

To extinguish fires with a greater expedition than by the
means usually employed, has long been a desideratum with the
public, and persons of considerable talents, in various parts,
have directed their attention to this object. Zachary Greyl was
the first whose projects for this purpose were attended with any
success. He contrived an engine of sufficient power, and man-
aged without much difficulty, with which he extinguished the
fire in buildings (to the satisfaction of many respectable persons
of the first rank who attended the experiment), by means of
explosion ; and he offered to make the secret public, in con-
sideration of a considerable sum of money, for which he

42 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

stipulated : but this proposal was not attended with any success,
and he died without disclosing it. A short time after his death,
the method was discovered by a person who had possessed
himself of Greyl's papers. The plan was tried before the King
of Poland, and a considerable number of the nobility, at Dresden,
and the secret was purchased for a large sum. It was afterwards
tried at Paris, and at several other places. The process was
simple : a vessel was provided large enough to contain a con-
siderable quantity of water, in the middle of which an iron case
was placed, filled with gunpowder, and properly secured against
wet, from which a tube communicated (through the head of the
vessel) with a match made of materials easily combustible. This
vessel was to be conveyed into the building on fire : the con-
sequence was, that the explosion occasioned by the gunpowder,
drove the water with considerable force every way, and although
the room might be flaming in every part at the instant of its
going off, the fire was immediately extinguished. But although
great expectations were formed, yet the benefit was by no means
general ; the fire in a room was easily put out, but when the
roof had fallen in, or the flames had communicated very far, or
the top was open, it must be obvious this plan could not
succeed.

Chimneys on fire are readily extinguished by completely
stopping up the throat or breast of the chimney with a wet
blanket, or by means of a register or chimney-board, or indeed
any thing which will entirely prevent the current of air passing
upwards.

Various plans have likewise been suggested with the view to
check the progress of fire. Dr. Hales proposed to stop it by

FIRE IN LONDON 43

covering the floors of the adjoining rooms with earth about an
inch thick. In the years 1775 and 1776, Mr. David Hartley
made several experiments to prove the efficacy of a plan which
he had invented, and for which he obtained a patent, and Parlia-
ment voted a certain sum to defray the expence of the numerous
experiments which were made with a view to restrain the spread
of fire in buildings. For this purpose thin iron plates were well
nailed to the top of the joists, &c. the edges of the sides and ends
being lapped over, folded together, and hammered close. Par-
titions, stairs, and doors, have been defended in the same manner,
and plates applied to one side have been found sufficient. The
plates are so thin as not to prevent the floor from being nailed on
the joists, in the same manner as if this preventive had not been
employed. The plates are kept from rust by being painted, or
varnished with oil and turpentine. The expence of this addition,
when extended through a whole building, does not exceed 5 per
cent. This patent has long since expired. The same preventive
may be applied to ships, and to many of the machines employed
in our manufactories.*

* The Earl of Stanhope also discovered and published a very simple and effectual
method of securing every kind of building against fire. This method he has divided
into three parts, viz. under-flooring, extra-lathing, and inter-securing. The method of
under-flooring is either single or double. In single under-flooring, a common strong
lath of oak or fir, about one fourth of an inch thick, should be nailed against each side
of every joist, and of every main timber supporting the floor which is to be secured ;
other similar laths are then to be nailed along the whole length of the joists, with their
ends butting against each other. The top of each of these laths or fillets ought to be at
one inch and a half below the top of the joists or timbers against which they are nailed,
and they will thus form a sort of small ledge on each side of the joists. These fillets are
to be well bedded in a rough plaster hereafter mentioned, when they are nailed on, so

FLEET PKISON

THE Fleet Prison is situated on the east side of Fleet
market, a little to the south of Fleet-lane, and was
originally so called from the river Fleet running by it.
It was destroyed in the riots of 1780, and was immediately

that there may be no interval between them and the joists ; and the same plaster ought
to be spread with a trowel upon the tops of all the fillets, and along the sides of that
part of the joists which is between the top of the fillets and the upper edge of the joists.
In order to fill up the intervals between the joists that support the floor, short pieces of
common lath, whose lengths are equal to the width of these intervals, should be laid in
the contrary direction to the joists, and close together in a row, so as to touch one another ;
their ends must rest upon the fillets, and they ought to be well bedded in the rough plaster,
but are not to be fastened with nails. They must then be covered with one thick coat of
the rough plaster, which is to be spread over them to the level of the tops of the joists,
and in a day or two this plaster should be trowelled over close to the sides of the joists,
without covering the tops of the joists with it. — In the method of double-flooring, the
fillets and short pieces of laths are applied in the manner already described ; but the
coat of rough plaster ought to be little more than half as thick as that in the former
method. Whilst this rough plaster is laid on, some more of the short pieces of laths
above-mentioned must be laid in the intervals between the joists upon the first coat, and
be dipped deep in it ; they should be laid as close as possible to each other, and in the
same direction with the first layer of short laths. Over this second layer of short laths
there must be spread another coat of rough plaster, which should be trowelled level with
the tops of the joists, without rising above them. The rough plaster may be made of
coarse lime and hair ; or, instead of hair, hay chopped to about three inches in length,
may be substituted with advantage. One measure of common rough sand, two measures
of slaked lime, and three measures of chopped hay, will form in general a very good

FLEET PRISON 45

rebuilt in its present state with brick and stone. The court
into which you enter is the whole length of the building, which
is about ninety feet. Passing through the lobby, you enter the
inner court, where the prisoners entertain themselves with tennis,
fives, and other amusements, as represented in the plate.
The building is separated into five divisions :

ist. The cellar floor, containing the kitchen, cellar, and fourteen
apartments.

proportion when sufficiently beaten up together in the manner of common mortar : the
hay should be put in after the two other ingredients are well beaten up together with
water. This plaster should be made stiff ; and when the flooring-boards are required to
be laid down very soon, a fourth or fifth part of quicklime in powder, formed by dropping
a small quantity of water on the limestone a little while before it is used, and well mixed
with this rough plaster, will cause it to be very fast. If any cracks appear in the rough
plaster-work near the joist when it is thoroughly dry, they ought to be closed by washing
them over with a brush wet with mortar-wash : this wash may be prepared by putting
two measures of quicklime, and one of common sand, in a pail, and stirring the mixture
with water, till the water becomes of the consistence of a thin jelly. Before the flooring-
boards are laid, a small quantity of very dry common sand should be strewed over the
plaster-work, and struck smooth with a hollow rule, moved in the direction of the joists,
so that it may lie rounding between each pair of joists. The plaster-work and sand
should be perfectly dry before the boards are laid, for fear of the dry rot. The method
of under-flooring may be successfully applied to a wooden staircase, but no sand is to be
laid upon the rough plaster-work. The method of extra-lathing may be applied to ceil-
ing joists, to sloping roofs, and to wooden partitions. — The third method, which is that
of inter-securing, is very similar to that of under-flooring, but no sand is afterwards to be
laid upon it. Inter-securing is applicable to the same parts of a building as the method
of extra-lathing, but it is seldom necessary. The author of this invention made several
experiments, in order to demonstrate the efficacy of these methods. In most houses it
is only necessary to secure the floors ; and the extra expence of under-flooring, including
all materials, was at that time only about nine-pence per square yard, and with the use of
quicklime, a little more. The extra expence of extra-lathing is no more than sixpence
per square yard for the timber side, wall, and partitions ; but for the ceiling, about nine-
pence per square yard : but in most houses no extra-lathing is necessary.

46 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

2nd. The chapel gallery, which contains the tap-rooms and

fourteen rooms.

3d. The coffee-room gallery, and twenty-four rooms.
4th. The infirmary gallery, and twenty-seven rooms.
5th. The upper gallery, which contains twenty-seven rooms.

The passages or galleries run the whole length of the building.
The rooms measure fourteen feet and a half by twelve and a half.

The number of prisoners usually confined in the Fleet is about
two hundred and fifty, and the number who have the benefit of
the rules is about fifty more.

The keeper is called the warden of the Fleet, and his fees from
the prisoners, for turning the key, for chamber-rent, &c. amount
to a considerable sum.

This prison belongs to the Court of Common Pleas, and hither
persons are committed for contempt of orders, &c. in the High
Court of Chancery ; or upon debt, when, by a writ of habeas
corpus, they remove themselves thither from any other prison.

The rules or liberties of the Fleet are, all the north side of
Ludgate-hill, and the Old Bailey up to Fleet-lane ; down that
lane into the market, and then turning the corner on the left, all
the east side along the Fleet Prison to the bottom of Ludgate-
hill.

The ditch was cleansed some years since at a considerable
expence, in the performing of which work, at the depth of
fourteen feet, were found several Roman utensils ; and a little
deeper, a great quantity of Roman coins, in silver, copper, brass,
and other metals, but none in gold. At Holborn bridge were
found two brazen lares, about four inches long, one a Bacchus,

FLEET PRISON 47

the other a Ceres. It is a probable conjecture, that these were
thrown in by the affrighted Romans at the approach of the en-
raged Boadicea, who soon took ample revenge on her insulting
conquerors. Here were also found numbers of Saxon antiquities,
spurs, weapons, keys, seals, &c. ; also medals, crosses, and cruci-
fixes, which might likewise have been flung in on occasion of some
alarm. This canal was afterwards neglected, and becoming a
nuisance, was filled up, and a sewer formed beneath, to convey
the water to the river. The fine market which extends the
whole length of the old ditch, rose in its place, in 1733, in which
year an act was passed, to empower the lord mayor and citizens
to fill the ditch at their own expence, and to vest the fee simple
of the ground in them and their successors for ever. The present
noble approach to Blackfriars bridge, and the well-built opening
of Chatham-place, were but a few years since a muddy ditch.
This had been the mouth of the creek, which, as Stow informs
us, in 1307 was of depth and width sufficient, "that ten or twelve
ships navies at once, with merchandizes, were wont to come to the
aforesaid bridge Fleete." It must be recollected, that at this
period there were drawbridges upon London bridge, through
which ships of a certain size might pass, and discharge their
cargoes in the mouth of the river.

This prison was founded as early as the first of Richard I. ; it
was also the place of confinement for such as had incurred the
displeasure of that arbitrary court, the Star Chamber. This
prison became such a scene of cruelty, that, in the year 1729, a
most benevolent set of gentlemen, prototypes of the good Howard,
formed themselves into a committee, to search into the horrors of
the gloomy gaol.

48 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

Unpitied and unheard, where misery moans,
Where sickness pines, where thirst and hunger burn,
And poor misfortune feels the lash of vice :
While in the land of liberty (the land
Whose every street and public meeting glow
With open freedom,) little tyrants rag'd,
Snatch'd the lean morsel from the starving mouth ;
Tore from cold wint'ry limbs the tatter'd weed,
Even robb'd them of the last of comforts, sleep ;
The freeborn Briton to the dungeon chain'd,
Or, as the lust of cruelty prevail'd,
At pleasure mark'd him with inglorious stripes,
And crush'd out lives by secret, barbarous ways.

THOMSON.

All these barbarities were realized. The House of Commons,
the year preceding, had taken up the enquiries, and found that
Huggins, warden of the Fleet, and Bambridge, his deputy, and
William Action, turnkey, had exercised most shocking cruelties.
Those monsters were tried for the murder of five unhappy men,
who died under the most horrid treatment from them : yet, not-
withstanding the prosecution was recommended from the throne,
and conducted by the ablest lawyers, to the concern of all good
men, these wretches escaped their merited punishment. Since
this period the management of the prison has undergone a
material alteration for the better ; indeed the laudable philan-
thropy of Mr. Howard has excited a spirit of enquiry into these
receptacles of misery and wickedness, which is an honour to the
age we live in, and to human nature itself.

The tapster is no longer permitted to rent the tap, nor to hold
any rooms in the prison to let out to hire, but is merely a servant
of the warden, dismissable at his pleasure.

FLEET PRISON 49

We add a copy of the rules and orders for the government of
this prison.

RULES AND ORDERS.— HILARY TERM, 3 GEORGE II. 1729.

IT is ordered, That all and singular the orders or rules here under wrote and
established, pursuant to an act of Parliament made and published in the second
year of the reign of our said lord the king, intituled An Act for the Relief of
Debtors with respect to the Imprisonment of their Persons, be well, strictly, and truly
observed and kept, as well by the warden of the prison of our lord the king of the
Fleet, and all his officers and servants, as by all prisoners who now are, or at any
time hereafter shall be, committed to the custody of the said warden.

And it is further ordered, That this rule, with all and every the rules or orders
aforesaid, shall be fixed up in the hall of the said prison, for the use, benefit, and
inspection of the prisoners detained in the aforesaid prison.

BY THE COURT.

Constitutions and orders renewed and established touching the government of the
Fleet Prison, by Sir Robert Catlyn, Knt. chief justice of the King's Bench ; Sir
William Cordell, Knt. master of the Rolls ; Sir James Dyer, Knt. chief justice
of the Common Pleas; Sir Edward Saunders, Knt. chief baron of the Exchequer;
and others, by virtue of a commission under the great seal of England, bearing
date the 3d day of June, in the third year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth ; and
afterwards reviewed and exemplified under the great seal, the ist day of February,
in the thirty-seventh year of the same reign ; and again declared and established
as rules and orders by which the said prison of the Fleet should be governed, by
letters patent granted to Sir Jeremy Whichcot, of the office of warden of the
Fleet, in the nineteenth year of the reign of King Charles the Second.

i. That it may be lawful to the said warden, or his deputy, to appoint so many
of the household servants as to either of them shall seem good, to open and shut
the two utter gates of the Fleet at such hours as the gates of Ludgate and Newgate
are accustomed to be opened and shut; and the said persons to carry in their hands
halberts, bills, or any other weapon, as shall seem good unto the said warden or
deputy, within his precinct or liberty.

ii. That it is and shall be lawful to the said warden and his deputy, to take order
from time to time, that no person coming there do carry any weapon further than
n. — E

50 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

the porter's lodge there, be he a stranger or other, unless they be licensed so
to do by the discretion of such as the same warden shall appoint to keep the gate
there.

in. That it may be lawful for the said warden, or his deputy, and so many of his
household as shall be thought needful, to keep watch in harness or otherwise within
his precinct at all times, as he shall see cause for his better safeguard, if he shall
suspect any prisoner within his custody to intend to make an escape.

iv. That it may be lawful for the said warden to take order at all times for such
money as shall be gathered at the box, or otherwise generously given to poor men
there for the distribution thereof amongst them, if any contention shall arise ; and
that the said poor men shall always keep one key of the said box, and another key
to be at the warden's appointment.

Orders made by the Right Honourable Sir Edward Herbert, Knt. lord chief
justice of his majesty's Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, and the rest
of the justices of the said court, Friday, the i yth day of February, anno Domini
1687, concerning his majesty's prison of the Fleet.

v. If the prisoners on the master's side refuse, or be not able to pay their
chamber-rent, then and in such case the warden has liberty to turn them out of his
or her chamber into the wards ; but no prisoner whatsoever to be confined under
the pretence of non-payment of chamber-rent, but all of them to have liberty of
walking in the fore-yard, hall, and cellar of the house in the day-time without
interruption ; the ward gates in the day-time to stand constantly open, and to be
opened (viz.) at five o'clock in the morning in the summer, and seven in the
winter.

And the said justices do further order, that the warden shall be at liberty to
shut the ward gates at nine of the clock at night in the winter time, and ten in the
summer, if he so think fit, provided he keep a watchman constantly to attend
there, to let out and in such persons as shall have occasion to go to the necessary-
house, they returning as soon as he or she has done there.

vi. That the warden shall not for the future detain or imbezil any prisoner's
goods, but that the said warden has liberty to detain the person of such prisoner
or prisoners after they are discharged by their creditors, until all lawful fees and
dues shall be fully paid and satisfied.

vii. That the warden shall with all convenient speed make and provide a
confined room or dungeon in the wards, as it was before the great fire of London,

FLEET PRISON 51

for the confinement of persons endeavouring to make their escapes, or guilty of
any other great misdemeanor, that the general quietness and liberty of the rest of
their fellow prisoners may not be restrained or suffer thereby.

And the persons whose names are hereunto subscribed, having reviewed and
considered the said rules and orders, and being informed that a confined room
was provided, according to the said last-mentioned order, and that the same is
boarded, wholesome, and dry, do order and declare, that the rules and orders before-
mentioned, shall continue to be rules and orders for the better government of the
Fleet Prison, and be observed accordingly.

And whereas some farther regulations are proper and necessary to be made for
the better government of the said prison, the persons whose names are hereunto
subscribed do further order,

vni. That the warden of the Fleet do keep the chapel of the Fleet in good
repair, and take care that divine service be performed, and the sacrament of the
Lord's supper administered therein at the usual and proper times, according to the
rites and ceremonies of the church of England ; and all prisoners are required to
attend at the times aforesaid.

ix. And it is hereby further ordered, that no chaplain of the Fleet, or any
clergyman being a prisoner within the walls or rules of the Fleet, do presume to
marry any person without licence within the prison or rules of the Fleet, and that
the warden and his officers do use their utmost diligence to prevent all such
marriages.

x. That the warden do cause the stocks to be kept up in the said prison (as
has been anciently practised) for the punishment of such prisoners as shall
blaspheme the name of God, be guilty of prophane cursing or swearing, or shall
behave themselves in a disorderly manner.

xi. That no prisoner do take possession of any chamber within the prison, but
with the consent of the warden, or his deputy, or pull down any partition, or
make any other material alteration there, without the consent of the warden or his
deputy ; but that the disposal and appointment of the chambers or rooms within
the said prison be in the warden, or his deputy, only ; yet so as neither of them
-do turn any prisoner out of possession, who shall be rightfully possessed of a
chamber, without reasonable cause : and that every prisoner, on his or her dis-
charge, do deliver over to the warden, his deputy, or chamberlain, the key of his
chamber, and all the warden's furniture therein.

52 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

xii. That the warden, or his deputy, may turn any prisoner out of his chamber
to the common side, that shall refuse or neglect to pay his or her chamber-rent
for the space of three months ; and that the warden, or his deputy, shall, in such
case, cause an inventory to be made of the prisoner's goods and effects (if any),
signed by two witnesses, and shall immediately deliver such goods and effects
to such prisoner; but the warden may still detain the person of such prisoner,
though discharged by the plaintiff, or in any other manner, until his arrears of
chamber-rent shall be fully satisfied and paid.

xm. That no prisoner, or other person, shall keep any public room within the
said prison for selling any victuals, wine, brandy, punch, beer, ale, or other liquor,
without leave of the warden, or his deputy; and if any prisoner, or prisoners,
shall offend in the premises, it shall be lawful for the warden, or his deputy, to
turn him, her, or them, out of their room or rooms to the common side ; and the
warden and his deputy are hereby required to take care that good order be kept
in such public room or rooms, as shall be allowed by either of them to be used
as aforesaid.

xiv. That the warden do take effectual care that every prisoner committed to
his custody be conveyed to the prison of the Fleet, without being carried to any
public victualling or drinking-house, or the private house of any tipstaff, officer,
or minister of the Fleet, or of any tenant or relation of his, without the voluntary
consent of the person or persons so in custody ; and that no garnish, or money,
shall be extorted by any prisoner or prisoners from any person committed, for his
coming into the said prison.

xv. That the warden do cause a table of the gifts and bequests made for the
benefit of the prisoners of the Fleet, expressing the particular purposes for which
the same are given, to be fairly writ in a plain and legible hand, to be hung up
in the hall of the said prison ; and that the warden take care that no prisoner,
or prisoners, be deprived or defrauded of his, her, or their shares, dues, or
dividends, of the charities so given ; and that no cellarman, turnkey, or other
officer, or servant of the warden, shall have any share or part in any charity given
to the prisoners, or bear any office in the said prison which may entitle him to any
power in receipt or disposition of such charity.

xvi. That every prisoner who shall make oath before one of the judges of the
court from whence the process issued upon which he or she shall be taken, or
charged, or before a commissioner empowered by such court, that he or she is not

FLEET PRISON 53

worth five pounds, and cannot subsist without the charities belonging to the
prisoners of the Fleet, shall immediately be admitted to all shares, dividends, and
profits arising from such charities.

xvn. That two rooms marked 9 and 10 up the chapel stairs, shall be kept as an
infirmary for the use of the prisoners on the common side, who shall fall sick
of such diseases as shall require their being removed, to prevent infection, or for
necessary care and relief; and that no prisoner shall be obliged to lie in the same
bed with a diseased person.

xvni. That the warden shall keep the prison-house and windows in good and
necessary repair, and keep the drains, bog-houses, and dunghill, as clean and free
from stench and noisomeness as possible.

xix. That when any prisoner dies within the said prison, the said warden shall
forthwith give notice of such death to the coroner, that the said coroner may
enquire, according to law, how such prisoner came by his death ; and that the said
warden shall detain the body no longer than till the coroner's inquest have made
their inquisition, which shall be done with all convenient speed, and that imme-
diately afterwards the dead body shall be delivered to the prisoner's friends or
relations, if they desire it, without fee or reward.

xx. That the warden do not sue, or procure to be sued out any writ of habeas
corpus to remove any prisoner from the prison of the Fleet to the prison of the
King's Bench.

xxi. That the warden shall keep a book, in which all commitments shall be
fairly entered in the words of such commitment within fourteen days after any
prisoner shall be committed.

xxn. That the warden shall keep another book, containing the names of every
prisoner actually brought into the Fleet, and taken into the house, with the name
of the party at whose suit he shall be committed, and the time when the prisoner
was brought to the Fleet, and received into the prison, specifying withal the court
or judge by whose authority he shall be committed.

xxni. That every tipstaff, to whom any prisoner shall be delivered in custody
at a judge's chamber, shall keep a book, containing the name of such prisoner,
the time when he was taken into custody, to be signed by such judge's clerk ; and
such judge's clerk shall keep another book, in which the like entry shall be made,
signed by the tipstaff.

54 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

xxiv. That the warden shall keep a book, in which memorandums shall be
entered of all declarations delivered to the turnkey or porter, against any prisoner
in the Fleet Prison, containing the names of the parties, the cause of action, and
the time when such declaration shall be delivered.

xxv. That the warden shall keep a book, in which all discharges of prisoners
shall be fairly entered, which entry shall specify how such discharge was made,
whether by the plaintiff, by suptrsedcas, or otherwise, and such entry shall be made
within five days after every discharge.

xxvi. That the warden shall keep a book, in which every writ of habeas corpus,
upon which the prisoner shall not be committed or the custody altered, with the
return of every such writ of habeas corpus, shall be fairly entered.

xxvn. That all the books before-mentioned, except the tipstaffs book, shall be
kept in the public office of the clerk of the papers of the Fleet ; and that all
persons shall have liberty to resort to them, and to take copies, as there shall be
occasion.

xxvin. That no clerk, officer, or servant whatsoever, belonging to any judge of
this court, shall directly or indirectly demand, receive, or take any gratuity, fee,
or reward, for, or by reason of any petition, complaint, or application, that shall
be made by any prisoner or prisoners of the said prison, pursuant to, or founded
upon any of the rules and orders herein before-mentioned, or concerning any
misgovernment in the Fleet.

xxix. Lastly, that the said warden and his officers do treat the several prisoners
in his custody with all tenderness and humanity, and that such prisoners do
behave themselves towards the warden with that submission and regard which the
law requires.

R. EYRE,
ROB. PRICE,
ALEX. DENTON,
J. FORTESCUE A.

FLEET PRISON

AN EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK OF FEES KEPT IN THE FIRST

PROTHONOTARIES' OFFICE OF THE COURT OF

COMMON PLEAS.

Termino Hillar. 21° Jacobi regis, 1625, a comic"1 having issued
from his maj'* to enquire into fees, &c. taken from the yzth of

Q. Eli?

Inter alia,

Fees due and belonging to the warden of the Fleet, and his under
officers, as appeareth by a commission, under the great seal of
England, from the late Queen Eliza in the $rd year of her reign,
and confirmed in the 37'* year of Eli^ what every in their
several degree ought to pay.

An arch bishop,
A duke,
A dutchess,

A marquess,
A marquessess,
An earl,
A countess,
A vice countess,

' are to pay for their comitm|
fee to the warden of the
Fleet, and his officers, hav-
ing the first weeks' dyett .
also they are to pay for their
ordinary comons weekly,
with wine ....
are to pay for their comitm'
fee to the warden of the
Fleet, and his officers, hav-
ing the first week's dyett .
also they are to pay for their
ordinary comons weekly,

. with wine ....

21 IO O

3 6 8

ii ii

THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

A lord spiritual or^teni-
poral, a lady the wife ^
of a baron or a lord,

A knight, a lady tlie
wife of a knight, a d"
of divinity, a dr of
law, and others of
like callings,

An esq'agent*agentlew.
that shall sit at the
parlour comons, or any
person or persons, un-
der that degree, that
shall be at the same
ordinary comons of
the parlour,

A yeoman, or any other
that shall be at the
hall comons, man or
woman,

are to pay for their comitm|
fee to the warden of the
Fleet, and his officers, hav-
ing the first week's dyett
also they are to pay for their
ordinary comons weekly,
with wine ....
are to pay for their comitm'
fee to the warden of the
Fleet, and his officers, hav-
ing the first week's dyett
also they are to pay for their
. ordinary comons weekly
are to pay for their comitm'
fee to the warden of the
Fleet, and his officers, hav-
ing the first week's dyett
and lodging

also they are to pay for their
ordinary weekly comons,
with wine ....
are to pay for their comitm!
fee to the warden and his
officers, having the first
week's dyett

also they are to pay for their
ordinary weekly comons,
with wine .

to 5 10

I 10 O

o 18 6

6 8

O IO O

i 14 4

FLEET PRISON 57

£ *• *•

A poor man in the wards \ .

is to pay for his fee, having
that hath a part at the \

no dyett . . . .074
box, }

Also there is due to the warden of the Fleet zod. per
diem for the whole day, and lod. for the half day,
for every man that the warden may lawfully license
to go abroad.

Moreover, the warden of the Fleet hath return of
writs, as the sheriffs and bayliffs of libertys have,
for which he hath for allowance and return of every
warr| or attaching . . . . . . .024

Also for every habeas corpus cum causa there are fees
for returning the causes, viz.

For allowance of the writt . . . . .024

For returning the first cause . . . . .024
and after every execution . . . . .020

To the warden's clerk for every acc°" . . .010

And to the warden's servant to bring the prisoner

safe to the barr . . . . .050

At Whitehall, the 9'* Jan. 1629.

PRESENT,

THE KING'S MAJESTY,

Ld Keeper, Ld Marshall, Earl of Holland,

Ld Cha^ Ld Steward, Ld Visc| Dorchester,

Ld Presid| Earl of Dorsett, Mr. Vice Chamberlane,

Ld Privy Seal, Earl of Carlisle, Mr. Secretary Cooke.

5« THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

It is this day thoht fitt and ordered (inter alia), that the jurors,
and such others by whom the truth may be best discovered, shall
present their full knowledge of perticuler exactions and extortions
comitted by the officers, attorneys, clerks, and ministers of and
belonging to the Courts of Chancery and Comon Pleas, and
perticulerly by whom, how much, of whom, when, and wherefore,
any new or unwarrantable fees or rewards have been exacted
or received, and that speedy return be made thereof, for his
maj'y'8 most effectual and important service upon the comission
for enquiry after exacted fees and inovated offices.

Ext P- JO. BIBLE Y,

Ckcn. Diet Comission.

" Altho' the warden for severall kings' and queens' reigns since
discontinued keeping any table in the prison, and the prisoners
provided for themselves, yet the fee of 3/. 6s. 8d. as a comitm' fee
was continued to be paid to all the wardens, and is continued to
be paid to this day for all prisoners comitted by the councell,
secretarys of state, High Court of Chancery, and Court of
Excheq' and the same fee is paid to the black rodd, and all
serj'.s at armes : but in the last year of King James the Second,
the judges of the Comon Pleas, taking notice of a clause in an
act made for the discharge of poor prisoners, allowing prisoners
to send out of the prison for their necessary food, who before
had been forc't to take it at the celler of the prison at un-
reasonable rates, applied that clause to the lessening of the
warden's fee ; for that, by the establishm! of the 3'? of Eliz? the
week's comons was part of the fee ; and reduced the fee on the
master's side to 2/. 4$. ^d. and i/. js. $d. on the comon side,

FLEET PRISON 59

wc.h hath ever since been paid for every comitm' or render in
discharge of bayle where the prisoner or his bayle have been
able ; and the fees to y? judges, their clerks, and the tipstaffs, are
likewise distintly paid for every render, as if the prison" were
bro! upp by severall habeas corpuses to discharge their severall
bayles, as they formerly used to do : but now the attorneys have
found out how to save so many habeas corpuses ; and Mr. Ford
and Mr. Stone, who acted long before Mr. Grindall's time, have
made affid'? hereof; and there is another affid* that Mr. Dixon,
who was clerk of the papers of the Fleet for above eighteen
years, gave the present warden, at the time of his comeing into
this office, an account of these fees due and paid in all his time :
Mr. Brampton, Judge Tracy's clerk, Mr. Whiten, the L? Cheife
Justice King's clerk, Mr. Mason, the L? Parker's clerk, Mr.
Watts, the clerk of the papers of the King's Bench, give the
like account, and that such fees were paid before the prisoners
turned over ; and the now warden is ready to make oath, that,
between twenty and thirty years since, when he was a practising
attorney in the city of London, he paid the like fees for tenn
renders at a time, and well remembers in w' clyents' cases such
fees were paid."

Mr. Nixon relates, that when they took down the old houses
in the market in the year 1 793, in order to build the present wall,
at the depth of about twenty feet from the surface, they found a
stone door-way standing complete, which Sir William Chambers
(the king's surveyor general) and Mr. N. imagined to have been
an entrance into the prison, as it communicated therewith by
means of a flight of stone steps. They also thought, that at
the time this table of fees existed, it was probable that such

60 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

prisoners as were committed to the Fleet by the Star Chamber
and other arbitrary authorities, were put into a covered boat, and
conveyed down the Thames, and thence up the river Hoi born
(which was then navigable), and put into the prison by this door :
the ancient foundation of the old houses went considerably below
it, the oak planking whereof (although perhaps it had lain there
five hundred years) was as perfect and sound as if just put down,
and actually forms a part of the planking of the foundation of
the present wall.

The Fleet Prison, it is believed, after the fire of London in
1666, was removed to that site of ground upon which the alms-
houses through Vauxhall turnpike, on the Wandsworth road, now
stand, until the old prison was rebuilt, Sir Jeremy Whichcott,
then warden, having his family seat there, which he converted
into a prison ; for which patriotic act, and rebuilding the old one
at his own expence, he and his heirs were wardens as long as
they lived. The office of warden of the Fleet was formerly of
such consequence, that a brother of one of the Edwards is said
to have been in the list of wardens.

THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL

THE instinct which protects our helpless offspring, and
which is denominated parental affection, is bestowed
upon all animated nature : but HUMANITY, the desire of
assisting our fellow-creatures, of relieving their distresses, and
promoting their happiness, belongs exclusively to the human race.
In the infancy of society, individual benevolence may be adequate
to the relief of individual distress ; but when millions are united
in one community, it is then that individual efforts are incapable,
not only of affording adequate relief to the unfortunate, but even
of distinguishing and selecting the proper objects of benevolence.
But when the exertions of many individuals are directed by one
spirit, to one object, they acquire a momentum of power, which
never can be attained by an unconnected individual : having one
single point in view, to which they devote all their efforts, they
act with an accumulating degree of zeal, perseverance, and
emulation, till each individual acquires the same interest in the
happiness of others, that he possesses in his own ; and thus the
best and the purest species of public spirit is generated and
preserved in a great country.

The impulse of this principle is one of the most honourable
and characteristic traits which distinguishes the British nation ;
a nation affording examples of a greater variety of noble and

62 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

useful establishments, in their nature purely disinterested, than
any nation in Europe. Indeed it appears scarcely credible, that
there should ever have existed a period, when hospitals for the
preservation of exposed and deserted infants, had been opened at
Paris, Madrid, Lisbon, Rome, Venice, and Amsterdam, and no
charity of that kind existing in England. In the reign of
Queen Anne a scheme of this nature had been projected, but
had not succeeded.

In 1713, Mr. Addison, in one of his periodical essays (No. 105
of The Guardian), directed the public attention again to the
subject. But it was near ten years after, that Mr. Thomas
Coram, master of a trading vessel to the American colonies,
undertook, and, after a labour of seventeen years, succeeded in
the establishment of the Foundling Hospital.

On the 1 7th day of October, 1739, the king granted his charter
to the governors and guardians of the Foundling Hospital,
constituting them a corporate body, authorizing the purchase of
real estates not exceeding 4OOO/. a year, and appointing courts
(at which the presence of thirteen governors at least should be
required) for the election of committees, a president, and other
officers, and for the general acts of the corporation.

It may be necessary to shew how far the Foundling Hospital
differs from all foreign charities for foundlings ; and to explain
why a limited establishment of this kind is proper in England,
although the system of general reception is rendered unnecessary,
by the institution of our poor laws. — The existence of such a
code, and the establishment of a permanent and certain provision
for the aged and the helpless, not of occasional bounty, but of
uncontrovertible right, and the anxious care which has watched,

THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL 63

though not with equal success, over every abuse or neglect in the
execution of them, may be placed in competition with the greatest
of our national achievements. To those, however, who have
paid much attention to the execution of these laws, it must have
occurred, that there are some cases in which, from the necessary
imperfection of all human establishments, the remedy is rendered
very inadequate : such, among others, is the instance of those
unhappy females, who, by broken faith, by unprincipled seduction,
or by some unfortunate circumstance, are placed in a situation,
where indigence and excess of bodily pain are aggravated by the
prospect of hopeless contumely and irretrievable disgrace ; and
who have sometimes been driven to a crime, which no mother
could ever have imagined, who was not first reduced to the
utmost extreme of agony and despair.

These are the objects to which the benefits of this charity are
peculiarly directed. In such a city as London, there always will
be some instances, in which the existence of the child, and the
future welfare and good conduct of the mother, can only be
secured by such an establishment as that of the Foundling
Hospital ; and it may be questioned, in many instances, whether
even the preservation of the helpless and unoffending infant is so
meritorious and beneficial an act of charity, as the rescuing its
wretched mother from a course of infamy and prostitution, and
restoring her to character and the means of honest industry.

The selection of such cases, with a patient investigation of
circumstances, is one of the most important duties of the acting
guardians of this charity. In one respect, this Hospital differs
from those in other countries, where the law has not appointed
any peculiar provision for the poor. Theirs are necessarily open

64 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

and universal : this, except during a short period, when the
system was totally and very improperly changed, extended only
to those cases where the poor laws do not afford competent
relief.

The inconvenience to be apprehended from such an asylum
is, the encouragement that may be given in some instances to
licentious habits of life, by the ease of providing for the con-
sequences of it. But no such ill effects could ever ensue, if the
sufferings of these penitent and unhappy women were fully
known to those who might otherwise have been inclined to follow
their example. And it is deserving of observation, that no
instance has come to the knowledge of the committee, of any
woman so relieved, who has not been thereby saved from (what
she would in all probability have been involved in) a course of
vice and prostitution. The detail of their wretched and deserted
situation, sometimes too well confirmed by the almost starving
condition in which some of the infants are brought into the
Hospital, is one (I might say the only) painful circumstance to
those who attend as the acting administrators of the charity ; a
detail which, if it could be given to the world without injury to
the unhappy subjects of it, would serve to deter from vice those
who might otherwise become the victims of seduction.

The first general court of the new corporation was held at
Somerset- House, on the 2Oth of November, 1739; the chairman
being the Duke of Bedford, who, for a period of above thirty
years, continued to act as President of the Hospital, until his
death in 1771.

Soon after the governors applied for and obtained an act of
Parliament, confirming their charter, with the addition of some

THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL 65

further powers, and the exemption of the Hospital from parochial
jurisdiction and interference.

The securing of an healthy and convenient site for the
Hospital, was a subject to which the governors had paid an
early attention. In October 1740, the committee had been
authorized to purchase of the Earl of Salisbury the two fields
on the northern side of Ormond-street, the situation appearing
to be extremely eligible for the charity. His lordship declined
treating, unless all his land there, extending to Gray's Inn-lane,
was included in the purchase ; and named as a price for the
whole, what his agent stated to have been already offered, the
sum of 7ooo/. Difficulties however arising, on the part of the
governors, with respect to the amount of the sum, the earl very
liberally obviated them, by a donation of 5OO/. towards the
purchase, reducing it thereby to 6^ooL The general court im-
mediately accepted the offer, and gave orders for a completion
of the contract.

The land purchased of Lord Salisbury appeared so desirable
a situation for the Hospital, and benefactions for the intended
building flowed in with so liberal a current, that the corporation
very speedily took into consideration the erection of an Hospital
on their new estate ; and on the i6th day of September, 1742,
the foundation stone of the western wing was laid, and the
building begun, upon a design prepared by Mr. Jacobsen, one
of the governors and first benefactors to the charity ; the
estimate of it amounting to 6555/. 17^. id.

The western wing of the new Hospital was finished, and the
houses in Hatton-Garden given up, in October 1745. In March
1 746, a subscription was opened for the building of the chapel ;

II. — F

66 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

and, the next year, the general committee was authorized to
contract for the immediate erection of it, upon a plan presented
by Mr. Jacobsen, the estimate of which was 4I95/. 17^. 40!. And
in 1749, the general committee (in order that the girls might be
kept separate from the boys) was authorized to proceed to the
building of the eastern wing; which, together with the treasurer's
house, appears to have been ready for habitation in 1752.

The whole of the building (originally calculated to hold four
hundred children) was intended to be plain and without
decoration ; but the talents and public spirit of several artists
benevolently varied the intention, and many ornaments were
presented by them to the charity. To Mr. Hogarth, who was
an active governor and an early benefactor, the Hospital is
indebted for three pictures ; one his March to Finchley, which,
in the opinion of some judges, stands first in the catalogue of his
works ; and another, the portrait of the founder, Mr. Coram, an
excellent and well painted picture. A list and description of
these donations, taken from the original printed account of the
Hospital, are inserted in a note.*

The charity is under very great obligation to the benevolence

* In the court-room were placed four capital figures, the subjects being parts of the
sacred history, suitable to the place for which they were designed.

The first, painted by Mr. Hayman, and taken from the 2d chapter of Exodus, ver.
8, 9. the words of which are, "The maid went and called the child's mother, and
" Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will
"give you wages."

The ensuing verse is the subject of the next picture, viz. " And the child grew, and
" she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son, and she called his
"name Moses." This picture is painted by Mr. Hogarth.

The third picture is the History of Ishmael, painted by Mr. Highmore. The subject
taken from the 2ist chapter of Genesis, ver. 17. "And the angel of the Lord called to

THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL 67

of Mr. Handel, who, upon the building of the chapel, gave the
Hospital an organ, and the benefit of his oratorio of the Messiah,
the performance of which he conducted himself. This he repeated
for several years, with an advantage to the funds of the charity,
amounting in the whole to upwards of 6jool. ; and at his death, in
1759, bequeathed his property in the music of that oratorio to the
Hospital.

In March 1751, Mr. Coram, the benevolent founder of the
Hospital, died, in the 84th year of his age. In consequence of a

" Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, What aileth thee, Hagar ? Fear not, for God
"hath heard the voice of the lad where he is ! "

The fourth picture was painted by Mr. Willes ; its subject taken from the i8th chapter
of Luke, ver. 16. "Jesus said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them
"not ; for of such is the kingdom of God." On each side of these pictures are placed
smaller pictures, in circular frames, representing the most considerable Hospitals in and
about London.

1. The view of the Foundling Hospital, by Mr. Wilson.

2. The view of the hospital at Hyde Park Corner, called St. George's Hospital, also
by Mr. Wilson.

3. The view of Chelsea Hospital, by Mr. Haytley.

4. The view of Bethlem Hospital, also by Mr. Haytley.

5. The view of St. Thomas's Hospital, by Mr. Whale.

6. The view of Greenwich Hospital, by Mr. Whale.

7. The view of the Blue Coat Hospital, also by Mr. Whale.

8. The view of Suttorfs Hospital, called the Charter- House, by Mr Gainsborough.
Over the chimney is placed a very curious bass-relief, carved by Mr. Rysbrack, and

presented by him, representing children employed in navigation and husbandry ; being
the employments to which the children of this hospital are destined.

The other ornaments of the room were also given by several ingenious workmen, who
had been employed in building the Hospital, and were desirous to contribute to its
establishment.

The stucco work was given by Mr. William Wilton ; the marble chimney by Mr.
Deval ; the table with its frame enriched with carving, by Mr. John Sanderson, and the
glass by Mr. Hallet.

In the other rooms of the Hospital are the following pictures : — His Most Sacred

68 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

wish expressed in his lifetime, he was interred under the chapel, in
the midst of that charity which he had founded ; a monument
more noble and dignified than ever pride or wealth obtained.
His life had been so totally devoid of self-interest, that he left
behind him property hardly sufficient to discharge the expences
of his funeral.

The increase of the income arising from the chapel, was an
object of importance in point of revenue ; and in this the charity
was more early in its success. The general committee, in order
to ensure a maintenance to a blind boy of the Hospital, had, in
1758, been induced to give directions for his being regularly in-
structed in music, at the expence of the charity : a similar order was
made in 1768, and again in 1771 ; and the seeds of benevolence
in these, as in most instances, have been returned with tenfold
produce into the bosom of the charity. The attention of the
governors to the management of the chapel, and to the instruction
of the children in sacred music, has, from that time, been attended
with great emolument to the charity. From the annual sum of
37/. 4.?. id. the whole receipt from the chapel in 1766, it had in
1776 increased to 34O/. 15^. $d. ; in 1786, to 88i/. ^s. id.; in
T795. to I594/. is. $d. ; and the produce of the chapel in 1806,
was 28i6/. i is. 6ct.

Majesty King George the Second, Patron of this Hospital, by Mr. Shakleton, painter to
his majesty. The Right Honourable the Earl of Dartmouth, one of the vice-presidents
of the Hospital, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Taylor White, Esq. treasurer of the Hospital,
in crayons, by Mr. Coates. Mr. Thomas Coram, and The March of the Guards to
Finchley, by Mr. Hogarth ; Mr. Milner and Mr. Jacobsen, by Mr. Hudson ; Dr. Mead,
by Mr. Ramsay ; Mr. Emerson, by Mr. Highmore ; Francis Fauquier, Esq. lieutenant
governor of Virginia, by Mr. Wilson. A large sea-piece, by Mr. Brooking ; and a fine
landscape, by Mr. Lambert.

THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL 69

A kitchen has been fitted up at the Foundling Hospital, upon
the plan, and under the direction, of Count Rumford. It has
now been in constant and daily use for thirteen years ; and, the
direction with regard to the quantity of fuel having been strictly
adhered to, it has been found to answer very completely. The
saving in coals to the charity has been 25 chaldrons a year.
Two cooks were employed before, and in very warm service ;
there is now only one, and (the first instruction properly attended
to) she finds it an easy duty. The iron work requires occasionally
some repair ; but not so much as the old kitchen did, or so much
as would be required by any common kitchen, from whence two
hundred and fifty persons were to be supplied with their daily
food. During warm weather, the flues retain the heat so well,
that half a peck of coals, with cinders, is as much as is now used
for either the boiler or roaster. In winter it amounts to about
a peck of coals, of the inferior and smaller sort, that will not burn
in common fires.

Music had been a source of very considerable benefit to the
charity ; and by the benevolence of Mr. Handel, very large sums
had been added to the funds of the corporation. In July 1774,
Doctor Burney and Mr. Giardini presented to the general court
a plan for establishing a public music-school at the Hospital ; a
plan which promised considerable, though no immediate, ad-
vantage to the charity ; but the proposal was rejected, * as not
warranted by the Act of Parliament.

* This may be a proper subject for reconsideration. The scheme, as then offered,
seems to have been chiefly exceptionable, because the projectors extended it too far.
How far, cannot now be precisely stated, as the plan was returned to the projectors, and

70 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

To the plan of re-establishing the finances, and perpetuating
the funds of the charity, by granting building leases, objections
had always been made, which, for a series of years, had prevented
the improvement of the hospital estate. However, in May 1785,
the governors being alarmed by the circumstance of the expences
of the Hospital having for some time exceeded the income, a
committee of enquiry was appointed; and, in March 1786, after
a lapse of above ten years, the consideration of the improvement
of their estate was resumed. In March 1787, the general com-
mittee was empowered to receive proposals, for taking any part
of the hospital land on building leases.

In December 1787, it was resolved, that such part of the estate
as laid south of, and adjoining to, the road leading from the gates
of the Hospital to Gray's Inn-lane, should be let on building
leases ; and the general committee was desired to advertise the
same, and to lay all proposals, which they should receive relating
thereto, before the next court. — This was confirmed in March
1788; and the ground of the Hospital was then ordered to be
advertised generally, to be let on building leases, and the most
speedy and effectual measures to be taken for letting the same.

The building committee, with the aid of Mr. Cockerell, prepared
a general and very full report on the subject ; and (in case of the
success of the measure) stated the probable accession of ground

no copy kept. A musical school within the Hospital, for the children incapable of any
other means of livelihood, might, under proper limitations, prove a benefit to the funds of
the Hospital, and a source of inestimable charity ; by giving comfort and independence
to any of the hospital children whose sight may fail, and, in some cases, to children
deprived of sight, the peculiarity of whose distress may entitle them to the protection of
the charity.

THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL 71

rents at the annual sum of at least 4OOO/. What has been
since let, amounts to 30457. I2S. ^d. exclusive of 5 5 2/. i$s.
under a pepper-corn rent, but which will be receivable in 1808
and 1809.

The gradual restoration of the finances of the Hospital, and
the late increase of benefactions and legacies, have enabled the
governors to replace stock which they had been compelled to
sell for the maintenance of the children ; to set about that general
and thorough repair of the Hospital, which it had long wanted ;
to liquidate its outstanding debts ; and, at the same time, gradually
to increase the establishment of its children, with a prospect of
a further augmentation. In March 1799 (in order to open the
doors equally and impartially to all proper objects), the general
court directed, that public notice be given, that there are, at
present, vacancies for several children, to be admitted into the
Foundling Hospital ; — that the ordinary age of reception (except
in very particular cases) is within twelve months from the birth ; —
that, in order to the reception of the child, the previous good
character and the present necessity of the mother, and the de-
sertion of the father, must be enquired into ; and also, whether
the reception of the child, together with the secrecy observed
as to the misfortune of the mother, will be attended with the
consequence of her being replaced in a course of virtue, and
in a way of obtaining an honest livelihood ; — that where these
concurrent circumstances can be ascertained on the testimony
of credible persons, the unfortunate mother is requested to apply
herself, with her own petition ; and to be assured, that both
recommendation and patronage will be unnecessary and useless.
It was at the same time notified, that the general committee

72 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

continued to sit for examination of petitions for admission of
children, every Wednesday morning, precisely at ten o'clock.

The reception for children at the Foundling Hospital in
London, is on the Saturday at noon preceding a public baptism ;
the circumstances of each case having been investigated and ascer-
tained during the preceding month, and proper nurses sent up
by the inspectors in the country for the children to be admitted.
The age of admittance is, generally, within six weeks from the
birth ; and, unless in some very few cases of peculiar distress,
is limited by the rules of the charity to twelve months.

The children are publicly christened the next day, in the
Foundling chapel, during the Sunday evening service ; and on
Monday morning they are conveyed, under the care of their
nurses, to their respective cottages, in the neighbourhood of the
inspectors, about twenty or thirty miles from London. Care is
taken that no nurse shall have more than one wet-nurse child
at a time ; and in case of the death of a child, the nurse, by
the regulations of the charity, is not to be entrusted with another
child ; unless, upon enquiry as to the attention she has paid it,
the circumstances appear to be very favourable to her. The
nurse is allowed three shillings a week ; and, if the child is
living at the end of the first year, she is entitled to a reward
of ten shillings. The mortality among the children at nurse is
very small,* compared with that of infants in almost any other
situation of life.

* It appears, by reference to the books of the Hospital, that there has been, since the
end of the year 1770, the number of 1666 children received into the Hospital, of whom
482 children died under the age of twelve months, being rather more than the proportion

THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL 73

The principal objects of this charitable institution are,

1. To prevent the murder or destruction of illegitimate infants
at their birth, or soon after, by their own mothers ; who are
often led to these unnatural crimes in the first agonies of despair,
from the dread of infamy and ruin.

2. To give those unhappy women who may have been seduced
and forsaken, an opportunity of retrieving their characters, by
returning to habits of honest industry and a virtuous course of
life ; for want of which they are often exposed to contempt within
the circle of their acquaintance, and have frequently recourse to
a state of prostitution, or dishonesty, in consequence of being
excluded from every reputable connection and employment.

3. To protect and educate a great number of helpless infants,
who otherwise, if not wilfully destroyed, might perish with hunger
and disease ; or become a burden and nuisance to society, from
their decrepitude, their ignorance, and their crimes, instead of
being, what they generally prove to be, useful subjects, good
Christians, and faithful servants. Within the walls of the Foundling
Hospital they grow up healthy, innocent, and strong ; they are
wholly excluded from the contagion of bad example, and are not
only instructed during their childhood in the principles of revealed
religion, but are bred up to habits of useful industry.

These three important objects have all been accomplished with
the greatest success.

of one in four. The present management and care of the children is more successful ;
the average of those who have died under twelve months in the preceding ten years,
being only one in six ; and, for the last four or five years, even less than that proportion.
The number of children admitted since the commencement of this institution is upwards
of 18,800, to the present time.

74 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

MANNER OF ADMISSION. — Women whose infants are proper
objects of the Foundling Charity, and not above a year old, may
apply on any Wednesday, before ten o'clock, to the secretary
at the Hospital, with petitions, which may be prepared by them-
selves if they can write ; if not, by a friend. No particular form
is required, and no interest or recommendation is necessary to
procure for them the benefit of the Hospital. The circumstances
which every woman will be required to prove, by reference to
credible persons, are,

1. That the child is her own, and who is the father; both
which circumstances must, if required, be attested on the oath
of the mother herself.

2. What is become of the father of the infant, to the best of
her knowledge.

3. That her general character and conduct, before her offence,
have been honest and reputable.

4. That she is not able to provide for her child herself, without
being reduced to extreme indigence, and without exposure of her
guilt. And,

5. That by providing for her infant, and concealing her shame,
there is a prospect of her returning to a virtuous course of life,
and preserving her former station in society.

It may not be improper to add, that the committee are particu-
larly attentive in their enquiries as to the conduct and character
of the mother previous and subsequent to her seduction. That
the circumstance of her having remained only a short time in
place, or having frequented the company of the idle and profligate
when out of place, operate very much against her ; and they are,
with great propriety, extremely indignant at any references to

THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL 75

persons against whom a well founded suspicion can arise of
having been partakers of the wages of prostitution. Indeed,
references to persons who are inclined to speak well from motives
of commiseration, rather than knowledge, or warranted good
opinion, injure the cause they are intended to support.

On the other hand, cases that come recommended by previous
length of service, good and honest characters, cases of seduction
by fellow servants, or persons in a similar degree of life, under
solemn promises of marriage, followed by unprincipled desertion,
and accompanied with that indescribable conflict of mind which
a young person necessarily undergoes, who, notwithstanding her
loss of innocence, retains a virtuous heart — who, plunged from
the elevation of character, to the depth of shame and remorse,
still feels the anxieties and anguish of maternal affection — who
anticipates even the success of a petition which is to separate the
child from her bosom, with a pang almost of annihilation — such
cases want no patronage, no other recommendations to interest
the governors of this charity ; on the contrary, they frequently
assist such mothers by an allowance from private funds equal to
the redemption of her clothes if pawned, or enable her to pur-
chase what she stands in need of.

TREATMENT OF INFANTS AFTER ADMISSION.

When any child is admitted into the Hospital, the mother
receives a receipt, which entitles her to enquire after the child ;
and to claim it, if she, or her husband, is in a situation to main-
tain it. The time for receiving children into the Hospital, is
generally the first Saturday in every month ; and on the following

76 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

day they are publicly baptized during the evening service. The
next morning they are sent into the country, about twenty or
thirty miles from London, to their nurses, who are under the
observance and controul of inspectors, living in the neighbour-
hood, and appointed by the general committee. No wet-nurse is
permitted to have more than one child at a time : she receives
her weekly allowance from the inspectors, and a gratuity besides,
if the child under her care is living at the end of a twelvemonth.
The children, while in the country, are frequently visited by
persons sent, without notice, by the general committee ; and when
they are about four years old, they return to the Hospital.

EDUCATION. — They are taught reading, writing, and accounts ;
they are also instructed in the church catechism, and learn to sing
the Foundling Hymns and Anthems. The girls, in addition to
this, are taught knitting and plain work.

EMPLOYMENT. — The girls are chiefly employed in needle-work,
which the Hospital takes in ; in making their own clothes, and all
the linen of the Hospital, and in such household work as is calcu-
lated to make them good servants.

The boys occasionally work in the garden, keep the court-yard
and chapel clean, and do such household work as may serve to
make them useful, and give them habits of industry.

APPRENTICESHIP. — The boys are apprenticed at twelve or
thirteen, and the girls at fourteen years of age. The former
are generally placed with London shopkeepers, to whom their
being able to write and keep accounts, is of considerable im-
portance.

Some are taken as house servants, or employed in husbandry ;
others are articled to such trades as they are capable of learning,

THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL 77

and some go to sea. The girls are in general apprenticed to
persons in town or country, as servants.

RULES RELATING TO THE APPRENTICING OF CHILDREN.

1. No boy, or girl, is apprenticed to any person but a house-
keeper, of whose character and situation a strict enquiry is pre-
viously made.

2. No girl is apprenticed to an unmarried man, nor to any
married man, without the concurrence of the wife.

3. In general, the girls are not apprenticed to any person who
lets lodgings, and who does not keep, at least, one established
servant in the house.

4. The children are frequently visited during their apprentice-
ship, the girls by the matron, and the boys by the schoolmaster.
The house committee, which sits on a Saturday, at half-past nine
o'clock, is ready to hear any complaint, and to redress any
grievance between the apprentices and their respective masters
or mistresses, and do not consider their duty as guardians fulfilled
till they are twenty-one years of age.

It appears from a report of the treasurer's, made in May 1798,
that out of 252 children then serving their apprenticeships,

There were found to be doing well 166

In distant situations of whom there had been no complaint 27

Apprenticed to their own relations 23

Of doubtful conduct requiring judicious management 21

Who had turned out ill, only 15

252

78 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

It appears also by the report, that the proportion of good
servants in place, and of industrious apprentices in trade, among
the children of the Foundling Hospital, is as great as from any
other class of young persons ; and that there are many respect-
able persons in London, married and settled in business, who
have been educated and apprenticed by this charity.

We cannot leave this subject without expressing the satisfac-
tion we have felt in pursuing our enquiries into the details of this
excellent institution, and we add with sincere pleasure our feeble
testimony to the active and successful benevolence with which its
concerns are administered.

J
J
< L

THE FKEE MASONS' HALL

GREAT QUEEN-STREET

THIS plate represents the Hall of the (BnmlJ ?Lo!njC
belonging to the Free- Masons of England. It is situated
in Great Queen-street, and attached to the Free-Masons'
Tavern. It represents the company on the day of the annual
dinner, when the female children who are supported by this
society, move in procession through the Hall. In pursuance of
a resolution of the Grand Lodge, a committee was appointed, in
the year 1773, for the purpose of procuring a proper situation to
erect a new Hall, suitable to the increased respectability of this
society. The committee having succeeded in this object, during
the year 1774, and the plan of the new Hall having been pre-
pared and approved of, in the year 1775 a fund of 5ooo/. was
raised by a tontine, towards erecting the same.

On the ist of May 1775, Lord Petre, accompanied by the
officers of the Grand Lodge of Masons of England, laid the
foundation-stone of the present building, with the following cere-
monies : — The grand master, preceded by the grand stewards,
past and present grand officers, in their regalia, and an excellent
band of martial music, came in procession to the ground, about
twelve o'clock ; when his lordship, attended by his deputy,

8o THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

wardens, secretary, treasurer, and architect, went down into the
trench, and laid the stone with the usual forms. An anthem was
then sung by Brother Du Bellamy, and an oration pronounced
by Brother James Bottomly. The company then returned in
procession in coaches to Leather-Sellers' Hall, where an elegant
entertainment was provided. In the month of May 1776, upon
Holy Thursday, the new Hall was dedicated with considerable
solemnity, a great number of strangers being present, particularly
ladies, who were treated with the utmost politeness and attention.
The celebrated and at that time the popular Dr. Dodd preached
the sermon upon this occasion.

The society of Free and Accepted Masons lays claim to con-
siderable antiquity : the origin of their association was probably
nothing more than a meeting of persons in the same profession,
led by a similarity of pursuits and habits to associate together,
for the common and usual purposes of society. The distinctions
of master, prentices, and fellow-craft, naturally occurred, without
connecting any thing more with the names than they obviously
import ; and, in the earlier periods, it is impossible to suppose a
society so perfectly modelled, and the degrees of subordination so
perfectly arranged, as some sticklers for the antiquity of Free-
Masonry contend.

With regard to the great secrets to which these societies pre-
tend, they are supposed to relate either to some extraordinary
knowledge in masonry or building, to the particular objects of the
institution itself, or the words, signs, or means by which Free-
Masons distinguish each other from those who are not initiated.
If we are of the elect, it must be obvious, that we ought not to
divulge a secret which has been preserved with so much fidelity

THE FREE-MASONS' HALL 81

from age to age ; and if we are not of this society (a society
distinguished for character as well as number in every country
of Europe, and consisting chiefly of princes and persons of the
greatest merit and consideration), it must be equally obvious, that
we cannot impart to our readers a knowledge that we do not
possess. But in either case, we may be allowed to observe, that
architecture appears to be the least likely of all the arts or pro-
fessions, to involve, either in its elements or history, any thing
like mystery. According to the Mosaic account, Cain built a city
(about 3875 years before the Christian sera), and called it after
his son Enoch — DEDICATE or CONSECRATE ; that JABAL, the son of
Lamech, was the first who erected tents, or movable houses. It
must be very clear, that architecture had made considerable pro-
gress when Noah constructed the ark, of strength to resist the
waters raging over the face of the whole earth. Nineveh and
other cities were built by Ashur. The city and tower of Babel,
built by the sons of Noah, when they were ordered to disperse,
as they were built of brick and cemented with slime, is evidence
of considerable improvement in this art, whether we deny or
admit with Herodotus and Strabo, that this was the Babylon
described by them. It is certainly a fanciful conceit, to attribute
the rise of the Masonic Faculty, and their universal practice of
conversing without speaking, and of knowing each other by signs
and tokens, to the dispersion which took place about fifty-
three years after the tower of Babel was begun. We know with
more certainty, that the practice of masonry, and the knowledge
of architecture, were carried to Egypt, where it flourished at least
two thousand years before the Christian sera. The cities of
Memphis, Heliopolis, and Thebes, the colossal statue of SPHINX,

II. — G

82 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

and those huge pyramids, at the remains of which modern travel-
lers still gaze with wonder and astonishment, bear ample testi-
mony of the skill of the Egyptians in architecture, although their
knowledge seems to have been confined to a few of its most
simple principles, and they appear to have been altogether ignor-
ant of the use of the arch. Indeed, those enormous blocks of
granite which composed the walls of their temples, baffle the
powers even of modern mechanism, although employed with the
utmost skill, and with all the assistance afforded by modern
improvements.

In India too we have the remains of architecture (of a different
nature), which rival even the powers and skill of the Egyptians :
indeed, the knowledge and practice of this art in India, is, by
some learned men, supposed to have been anterior to its cultiva-
tion in Egypt.

The walls of Nineveh and Babylon, built by the Assyrians,
are reckoned among the seven wonders of the world ; and as the
bricks with which they were built, were cemented with bitumen
and straw or reeds, it is presumed they were at this period
ignorant of the art of converting stones into lime.

The famous temple of Dagon at Gaza, supported by only two
slender columns, not too large for the grasp of Samson, affords
no slight proof of the excellence of the Phoenicians, and their
progress in the art of building. This city was afterwards re-
paired by Hiram, King of Tyre, and joined to the temple of
Jupiter, that stood upon an island : he likewise beautified the city
by two noble temples, one dedicated to Hercules, the other to
Astarte.

At this period the artists of Tyre and Sidon were of great

THE FREE-MASONS' HALL 83

celebrity ; and the Jews, from their vicinity and intercourse, had
the opportunity of learning those arts which were so highly
cultivated by their neighbours.

Upon the accession of Solomon to the throne of David, he lost
no time in carrying into execution the design of his father, to
build a magnificent house for the ark of God ; and applied to
Hiram, his friend and ally, for assistance. In addition to other
aids, Hiram sent him a man of his own name, a Tyrian, of
Israelitish descent, who was called HIRAM ABBIF ; a name that
is seldom mentioned by Masons without the highest respect and
enthusiasm.

To carry on this stupendous work with greater ease and speed,
Solomon caused all the craftsmen to be numbered, as well natives
as foreigners, and classed as follows :

1. HARODIM — Princes and rulers 300

2. MENATZCHIM — Overseers and comforters of the

people in working 3300

3. GHIBLIM — Stone-squarers, polishers, and sculptors ;

— and ISHCHOTZEB — men of hewing ; — and BENAI

— setters, layers, or builders 80000

4. The levy out of Israel appointed to work in Lebanon

one month in three, 10,000 every month, under

the direction of ADONIRAM 30000

Besides the ISH SABBAL, or men of burthen, the remains

of the Canaanites, amounting to 70000

183600

From Egypt, architecture travelled into Greece, where the arts,
fostered by a genial climate and an ingenious people, soon began

84 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

to flourish, and at length arrived at a maturity and perfection
which have rarely been equalled, and never excelled, by-
succeeding nations. In the arts of design the Grecians had no
rivals ; and for a period of at least three centuries (from the time
of Solon to the death of Alexander), they maintained a superiority
of excellence so great, that the most perfect models of sculpture
which exist at this time, are the production of artists who
flourished during that period.

The arch appears to have been the invention of the Greeks ;
and we are certainly indebted to them for the Doric, Ionic, and
Corinthian orders.

In Greece, no slave was permitted by law to learn the seven
sciences of the freedom, viz. i. Grammar — 2. Rhetoric — 3. Logic
— 4. Arithmetic — 5. Geometry — 6. Music — 7. Astronomy.

Now as Geometry is the foundation of Masonry, it has been
ingeniously contended by the advocates for the antiquity of
Masonic Societies, that Free -Masons, even in Greece, were
distinguished by that appellation, as well as by their lodges ;
and that these learned people (properly considering that the
rules of the beautiful proportions in architecture, were taken from
the proportions of the human body), wisely determined, that their
fine painters and statuaries should be considered as architects ;
and they were accordingly accepted as brothers. It is from this
period, therefore, they date the strict union between the Free and
Accepted Masons, which has since subsisted in all regular lodges.

The Sicilians, descended from the Greeks, inherited from them
a knowledge of architecture, and followed their instructions.
The name of Archimedes, who defended Syracuse against the
Romans, is held by Masons in little less respect than that of

THE FREE-MASONS' HALL 85

Euclid. From Sicily we pass to Italy, where the Tuscans had
many monuments of taste in architecture : they had learned from
the Greeks the three orders ; to these they added their own, or
the Tuscan order, which it does not appear the Greeks had ever
been acquainted with. Turrenus, the last king of the Tuscans,
bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans, who employed their
more skilful neighbours in building the Capitol, and likewise the
Cloaca Maxima, the remains of which are highly curious and
extraordinary. The Tuscans are said to have been the inventors
of the method of building with small stones and mortar. — It does
not appear that the Romans made any great progress in building,
or in the style of their architecture, till about the year of Rome
559, when Scipio Asiaticus deprived the king of Syria of all his
dominions west of mount Taurus.

It was at this period the Romans became acquainted with the
beauties of Grecian architecture, and beheld with astonishment
and pleasure the productions of taste, grandeur, and simplicity.
But if the Romans seem to have wasted five or six centuries in
a perpetual succession of wars, they afterwards cultivated archi-
tecture with a zeal and attachment, that promised, and indeed
obtained, a high degree of excellence. In the number, variety,
and magnificence of their public and private buildings, they
successfully compete with their Grecian masters : but in the
most flourishing periods of Roman greatness, from the days of
Augustus to the reign of Constantine, we shall in vain look for
the simplicity of design, and purity of taste, which have rendered
the Grecian architecture an object of continued admiration with
succeeding ages. To the three orders which they derived from
Greece, and the Tuscan, which they learned from their neigh-

86 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

bours, the Romans added the Composite, or Roman order. — The
Egyptians, in their vast structures, considered vastness of design,
and immensity of parts, more than ornament or utility ; and even
the Grecians, with all their taste and elegance, seem never to
have forgotten, that they were building for posterity. It is to
the circumstance of their employing large and weighty stones in
the construction of their buildings, jointed with the greatest
accuracy, and fitted together without cement, that the remains of
them are at this day in a state of so much perfection. But
previous to the extinction of the Roman Empire, purity of taste
in all the arts of design had rapidly declined, and the imposing
magnificence of a grand exterior had long been sacrificed to
costly ornaments and interior decoration.

The northern nations of Europe, the Goths, Vandals, &c. had
become numerous and powerful, as the Roman power declined ;
and at length bursting forth like a torrent, invaded and over-ran
the fairest provinces of the empire, and at last Italy itself;
destroying the finest monuments of arts and architecture, and
involving the whole empire of the West in the most gross and
profound ignorance. The Mahometans, at no distant period,
completed the destruction of the Eastern empire.

The Goths soon became converts to Christianity, and having
no principles or rules of architecture, either converted the Roman
basilicas into churches, or formed new ones after the models of
such as had been erected in the latter ages of the Roman empire.
Very little alteration therefore took place during their govern-
ment ; and it requires but little to satisfy the learned and
judicious, that the term GOTHIC is very improperly applied to a
style of building, which originated at a period long subsequent

THE FREE-MASONS' HALL 87

to the existence of the Goths as a nation. The fact really is,
that the style of building which prevailed in Italy during their
power, was the debased Roman. The restorers of the Grecian
style in Italy, and the followers of Palladio and Inigo Jones, with
a view to degrade the beautiful edifices which were erected
between the early part of the twelfth, and the end of the fifteenth
century, stigmatized them all with the epithet of Gothic. — The
first certain accounts we have of Britain, is from Caesar's Com-
mentaries. He landed in this island about fifty years before the
birth of Christ. We hear little more of the Romans till the year
77, when Julius Agricola conquered as far as the isthmus between
the friths of Clyde and Forth, which he fortified with a wall of
earth against the Picts. A succession of emperors and their
lieutenants visited the island, of whom little is necessary to be
said, so far as the history of Masonry is concerned, till the time
of Carausius, who was employed by the joint Emperors Dioclesian
and Maximilian against the Saxon pirates. About this period,
A.D. 287, Albanus is said to have formed the first grand lodge
in Great Britain.*

The Romans continued to interfere in the affairs of Britain
during a period of about 486 years, if we reckon from the landing
of Caesar to the departure of the last legion under Gallio, A.D.
430. The northern nations hearing that the Romans were never
to return, invaded the south, and ravaged it the more easily, as
the southern nations were divided under several kings, until they

* The old constitutions affirm, and the old English Masons as firmly believe it, that
Carausius employed St. Alban to " environ the city of Verulam with a stone wall, and to
"build him a fine palace ; for which that British king made St. Alban the steward of his
" household, and chief ruler of the realm."

88 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

were united under Vortigern, who, with the consent of his nobles,
invited the Saxons of Lower Germany to assist them ; which
they did, sending more than 2000 troops under Prince Hengist ;
and having succeeded in driving the Scots and Picts beyond the
H umber, determined to settle themselves in the country of their
new ally ; which, after many battles with the natives, they ac-
complished, and founded the Heptarchy.

The first Saxon churches were built about the latter end of
the fifth, and beginning of the sixth century ; among the principal
were, the cathedrals of Canterbury and Rochester, St. Paul's
London, and St. Peter's Westminster. They appear to have
been constructed after models of Roman temples ; the style itself
was called Roman, and the term Gothic, as already observed,
was not known till many centuries afterwards. The principal
entrance was at the west end, into the nave ; on each side was
an aisle ; at the other extremity of the nave was a cross, ex-
tending north and south ; towards the east was situated the choir :
over the center of the cross was usually a tower, and another
was generally erected to contain the bells. This style is easily
recognized by its semicircular arches and massy pillars, which
were either polygonal, square, or circular, and by the three tiers
or stories, which divided the side aisles. Mr. Britton, in his
Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain, has classed the
several styles in the following order: — i. Anglo-Saxon — 2. Anglo-
Norman — 3. English — 4. Decorated English — 5. Highly deco-
rated florid English.*

* i. A.-S. This will embrace all buildings that were erected between the times of
the conversion of the Saxons and the Norman conquest.

2. A.-N. by which is meant that style which prevailed from 1066 to 1189, including

THE FREE-MASONS' HALL 89

From the beginning of Henry VIII. our intercourse with the
Italians begat a mixed and debased species of architecture, which
continued to disfigure the buildings erected during this and the
succeeding reigns of Edward VI. Mary I. and Elizabeth : the
latter hearing that Free- Masons had certain secrets which could
not be revealed to her, and being jealous of all secret assemblies,
she sent an armed force to break up their annual grand lodge at
York, on St. John's day, 27th December, 1561.

But the ancient architecture was soon after restored in this
country by Inigo Jones, who was born A.D. 1572. His principal
works are the Banqueting-room Whitehall, Greenwich, Covent-
Garden, Bloomsbury - House (late the Duke of Bedford's),
Gunnesbury-House, Wilton-House, &c.

the reigns of William I. and II. Henry I. Stephen, and Henry II. During this period
the arch, from being circular, was slightly pointed, and the heavy pillars were formed
into pilastered clusters, which gradually assumed a more elegant and ornamental
appearance.

3. English, from 1189 to 1272, ^including the reigns of Richard I. John, and
Henry III. At this time pointed and circular arches were frequently mixed in the same
building, till the taste for pointed arches becoming more general, uniformity, proportion,
and elegance began to prevail ; a higher degree of decoration was introduced, and the
buttresses formed in stages, diminishing towards the top, and ornamented with pinnacles.

4. D. E. from 1272 to 1461, including the reigns of Edward I. II. and III. Richard II.
Henry IV. V. and VI. During this period the east and west windows were considerably
enlarged, and carried up almost the whole height of the vaulting and nearly the breadth
of the nave, and were highly ornamented with painted glass. The pillars became more
tall and slender, the columns which formed the cluster were of different diameters, and
the capitals more complicated. The vaulting was richly studded with knots of foliage.
The canopies were purfled, and terminated with a rich knot of flowers. The flying
buttresses were formed on segments of circles, uniting at the same time lightness and
strength.

5. H. d.f. E. from 1461 to 1509, including the reigns of Edward IV. V. Richard HI.
and Henry VII.

90 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

To Inigo Jones succeeded Sir Christopher Wren, who was
principal architect for rebuilding the city of London, and the
parochial churches enacted by Parliament to be built in lieu of
those destroyed at the great fire. But the work that will per-
petuate his name as an architect, is St. Paul's Cathedral, a work
inferior only in size to St. Peter's at Rome. "This noble
"structure, began in the year 1675, was finished A.D. 1710, by
"one architect, and under one Bishop of London (Dr. Henry
"Compton): whereas St. Peter's was 145 years in building,
"carried on by twelve architects, successively assisted by the
"policy and interest of the Papal See, the ready acquisition of
" marble, and attended by the best artists of the world in
"sculpture, statuary, painting, and mosaic work, during the reign
"of nineteen popes."

In following the progress of architecture from the rude designs
of the first cottage, through the several seras of the massy
Egyptian, the splendid Jewish, the elegant Grecian, the more
varied Roman, the heavy Saxon, the debased Italian, the orna-
mented English, the revival of the ancient styles, up to the
present age of motley buildings, we have in fact traced the
progress of Masonic Societies, which have fluctuated between
the extremes of princely patronage and political persecution, as
the caprice, ignorance, or suspicions of those who possessed the
power, led them either to encourage or depreciate establishments
of this nature. Wicked and designing men there are in all
numerous societies ; but, notwithstanding the reflections which
have been thrown out upon Free-Masons, and the object of
their institutions (as supposed to be connected with the projects
of certain Illuminatt], so far as we are able to judge of human

THE FREE-MASONS' HALL 91

societies by the common means of human observation, the Free-
Masons appear rather to merit the encouragement and protection
of all good governments, than to be branded as objects of
suspicion. We shall add, for the entertainment, and possibly
for the information, of some of our readers, certayne questyons,
wyth awnsweres to the same, concernynge the mystery of Mafonrye ;
wrytenne by the hande of Kynge Henrye the Sixthe of the name,
and faithfullye copyed by me John Leylande, antiquariiis, by the
cammaunde of His Highnesse. They be as folloivethe :

Quest. What mote ytt be?

Answ. Ytt beeth the skylle of nature, the understondynge of
the myghte that ys hereynne, and its sondrye wreckynges ; sonder-
lyche, the skylle of rectenyngs, of waightes, and metynges, and
the treu manere of faconnynge all thynges for mannes use,
headlye, dwellynges, and buyldyngs of alle kinds, and alle odher
thynges that make gudde to manne.

Quest. Where dyd ytt begynne ?

Answ. Ytt dyd begynne with the fyrste menne yn the Este,
which were before the ffyrste manne of the Weste, and comynge
westlye, ytt hathe brought herwyth alle comfortes to the ivylde
and comfortlesse.

Quest. Who dyd brynge ytt westlye ?

Answ. The Venetians, who being grate merchaundes, corned
ffyrst ffromme the Este ynn Venetia, ffor the commodytye of
marchandysynge beithe Este and Weste, by the Redde and
Myddleyonde Sees.

Quest, Howe comede ytt yn Engelonde ?

Answ. Peter Gower, a Grecian, journeyedde ffor kunnynge
yn Egypte, and yn Syria, and yn everyche lond whereas the

92 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

Venetians hadde plauntedde Magonrye, and wynnage entraunces
yn al lodges of Magonnes, he lerned muche, and retournedde,
and waned yn Grecia Magna wachsynge, and becommynge a
myghtye wyseacre, and gratelyche renowned, and her he framed
a grate lodge at Groton, and maked manye Magonnes, some
whereoffe dyd journeye in Fraunce, and maked manye Magonnes,
wherefromme, yn processe of tyme, the arte passed yn Engelonde.

Quest. Dothe Magonnes descouer there arts unto odhers ?

Answ. Peter Gower, when he journeyedde to lernne, was
ffyrste made, and anonne techedde ; evenne soe shulde all odhers
beyn recht. Natheless, Magonnes haueth always yn everyche
tyme from tyme to tyme communicatedde to mankynde soche
of her secrettes as generallyche myghte be usefulle ; they haueth
keped backe soche allein as shulde be harmfulle yff they commed
yn euylle haundes, oder soche as ne myght be holpynge wythouten
the techynges to be joynedde herwythe in the lodge ; oder soche
as do bynde the Freres more strongelyche together, bey the
proffyte and commodytye comynge to the Confrerie herfromme.

Quest. Whatte arts haueth the Magonnes techedde mankynde?

Answ. The arts AGRICULTURA, ARCHITECTURA, ASTRONOMIA,

GEOMETRIA, NUMERES, MUSICA, POESIE, KYMISTRYE, GOVERNMENTE,
and RELYGYONNE.

Quest. Howe commeth Magonnes more teachers than odher
menne ?

Answ. The hemselfe haueth allein in arte of fyndynge neue
artes, whyche art the ffyrste Magonnes receaued from Godde ;
by the whyche they fyndethe what artes hem plesethe, and the
treu way of techynge the same. Whatt odher menne doethe
ffynde out, ys onelyche by chaunce, and herefore but lytle I tro.

THE FREE-MASONS' HALL 93

Quest. Whatte dothe the Ma9onnes concele and hyde ?

Answ. They concelethe the art of ffynding new arts, and thatt
ys for here own proffytte, and preise : they concelethe the art of
kepynge secrettes, thatt so the worlde mayeth nothinge concele
from them. They concelethe the art of wunderwerckynge, and
of sore sayinge thynges to comme, thatt so thay same artes may
not be usedde of the wyckedde to an euylle ende ; they also
concelethe the arte of chaunges, the wey of wynnynge the facultye
of A brae, the skille of becomynge gude and parfyghte wythouten
the holpynges of fere and hope ; and the universalle longage of
Ma£onnes.

Quest. Wylle he teche me thay same artes ?

Answ. Ye shalle be techedde yff ye be werthye, and able
to lerne.

Quest. Dothe alle Ma9onnes kunne more than odher menne ?

Answ. Not so. Thay onlyche haueth recht and occasyonne
more than odher menne to kunne, butt many doeth fale yn
capacity, and many more doth want industrye, thatt ys per-
necessarye for the gaynyenge all kunnynge.

Quest. Are Macxmnes gudder menne than odhers ?

Answ. Some Masonnes are not so vertuous as some other
menne ; but, yn the moste parte, thay be more gude than thay
would be if thay war not Maconnes.

Quest. Doth Maconnes love eidther odher myghtyly as beeth
sayde ?

Answ. Yea verylyche, and yt may not odherwise be : for gude
menne, and true, kennynge eidher odher to be soche, doeth
always love the more as thay be more gude.

GAMING-HOUSE

THIS print is a very good representation of the great
room at Brookess Subscription-House, in St. James's-
street. The house was built by the late Mr. Brookes,
about the year 1777, for the express purpose of accommodating
the political club which had been formed some years before that
period, under the tutelar auspices of the late Mr. Charles Fox,
at Almack's. The room is 37 feet long, 22 wide, and 25 high.
The architect was Mr. Henry Holland. This club is known by
the title of Brookes's, and is honoured by the names of the
Prince of Wales, the Dukes of York and Clarence, and the
principal nobility and gentry, who have usually appeared in
the ranks of opposition with the late Mr. Fox. The number
of its members is limited to four hundred and fifty ; the candi-
date for admission must be nominated by a member, and his
name exposed in a list for that purpose at least one week before
the ballot, which can only take place during the meeting of
Parliament, and when at least twelve members are present.
A single black ball is sufficient to exclude. The Royal Family
do not undergo this ceremony for admission, and they are not
competent to exercise the invidious power of voting at the
election of other members.

The business of the club is managed by a committee of six

GAMING-HOUSE 95

gentlemen, who are chosen annually. All new rules proposed
are ballotted for. The members of this club are permitted by
courtesy to belong to the clubs at Bath, and also to Miles's, and
other respectable clubs, without being ballotted for. The sub-
scription is 1 1 guineas per annum. The game of hazard is
seldom or ever played, and there is no billiard-table. The
present fashionable games are quinze, wist, piquet, and maccaw.

This club has continued at Brookes's for upwards of thirty
years, and is more properly an association of noblemen and
gentlemen, connected by politics, than gaming : it is not to be
denied, that a few years since this destructive propensity was
carried beyond all the purposes of amusement or pleasure, and
that some of our great popular characters have been accused
of indulging a most inordinate passion for it ; but the taste for
play seems, in a considerable degree, to have abated, although
some men, of sanguine tempers and ardent dispositions, still
continue partial to this amusement. During the time this club
met at Almack's, a regular book was kept of the wagers laid
by the different members, as well as of the sums won or lost
at play, which were carried to the accounts of the respective
parties with all the forms of mercantile precision. We are old
enough to remember the circumstances which gave rise to some
of these wagers ; which, as they shew the opinions entertained
by persons who shone so conspicuously in politics, upon the
particular subjects to which they allude, may be considered at
least as interesting as some of the Ana with which the public
have been entertained : we shall therefore insert a few.

"March n, 1774, Almack's. Lord Clermont has given Mr.
Crawford ten guineas upon the condition of receiving SOQ/. from

96 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

him whenever Mr. Charles Fox shall be worth ioo,ooo/. clear
of debts.

"Lord Northington bets Mr. C. Fox, June 4, 1774, that he
(Mr. C. F.) is not called to the bar before this day four years.

•'March u, 1775. Lord Bolingbroke gives a guinea to Mr.
Charles Fox, and is to receive a thousand from him whenever
the debt of this country amounts to 171 millions. Mr. Fox is
not to pay the iooo/. till he is one of his Majesty's cabinet.

"April 7, 1792. Mr. Sheridan bets Lord Lauderdale and
Lord Thanet, twenty-five guineas each, that Parliament will not
consent to any more lotteries after the present one voted to be
drawn in February next."

Perhaps no invention has been prostituted from its original
purpose more than card-playing.

Cards were at first for benefits design'd ;
Sent to amuse, and not enslave the mind :
But from such wise end they must soon depart,
From this principle of the human heart,
Which not in pleasure's self can pleasure find,
Unless it comes with agitation join'd ;
Which, basking warm in Fortune's sunshine clear,
Sighs for the shifting clouds of hope and fear;
And tir'd with looking on the listless deep,
When lull'd by summer gales to silver sleep,
Would rather far the tempest's fury brave,
When danger rides on ev'ry foaming wave.

The honour of their first discovery is contended for by two
nations, the French and Spanish. From the materials of which
cards have always been made, they are supposed to have been
invented subsequent to the days of Charlemagne. In the three

GAMING-HOUSE 97

Essays on the "ANTIQUITY OF CARD-PLAYING," (Archaologia, vol.
VIII.) the pretensions of the Spaniards to this discovery seem
to be supported. Others, on the contrary, attribute it to
Jaquemin Grigonneur, a French painter, who is said to have
made them with a view to divert the melancholy which Charles
the Sixth of France had fallen into, about the year 1390. Those
who support this supposition, contend that they were not in use
before that period :

1. Because no cards are to be seen in any painting, sculpture,
tapestry, &c. more ancient ; but are represented in many works
of ingenuity since that age.

2. No prohibitions relative to cards are mentioned in the
king's edicts, although but a few years previous, a most severe
one was published against all sports and pastimes (by name), in
order that the people might exercise themselves in shooting with
bows and arrows, and be in a condition to oppose the English.

3. In all the ecclesiastical canons prior to the said time, there
occurs no mention of cards ; although twenty years after that
date, card-playing was interdicted the clergy by a Gallican synod.

4. Because about this time is found, in the account-book of the
king's cofferer, the following charges :

" Paid for a pack of painted leaves, bought for the king's
amusement, 3 liv.

" Paid fifty-six shillings of Paris to Jaquemin Grigonneur, the
painter, for three packs of cards, gilded with gold, and painted
with divers colours and divers devices, to be carried to the king
for his amusement."

In the synodical canons before alluded to, they are called
"pagellce picta" little painted leaves.

II. — H

98 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

5. Because about thirty years after this, came out a severe
edict against cards in France ; and another by Emanuel, Duke of
Savoy, only permitting this pastime to the ladies "pro spinulis,"
for pins and needles.

By the four suits were intended to be represented the four
estates.

By the cceurs (hearts) are meant the gens de cceur, choice men
and ecclesiastics ; and the Spaniards have copas, or chalices,
instead of hearts.

By the ends or points of lances are represented the nobility,
or first military men ; the Spaniards have espadas (swords), in
lieu of pike-heads, and our ignorance of the meaning of the
figure induced us to call them spades.

By the diamonds are designed the class of citizens, merchants,
and tradesmen, carreaux (square stones, tiles, or the like) ; the
Spaniards have a coin, dineros, which answers to it ; and the
Dutch call the French word carreaux, sticneen, stones, and
diamonds, from the form.

Treste, the trefoil leaf, or clover-grass (corruptly called clubs),
alludes to the husbandmen and peasants. How this suit came
to be called clubs, I cannot explain, unless borrowing the game
from the Spaniards, who have bastos (staves or clubs), instead
of the trefoil, we give the Spanish signification to the French
figure.

The four kings are David, Alexander, Cczsar, and Charles,
representing the four celebrated monarchies of the Jews, Greeks,
Romans, and the Franks under Charlemagne.

By the queens are intended Argine (which word is an anagram
of regina], Esther, Judith, and Pallas, names which the French

GAMING-HOUSE 99

still retain on their cards, and are typical of birth, piety, forti-
tude, and wisdom.

By the knaves are designed the servants to the knights ; for
knave originally meant servant, and in an old translation of the
Bible, St. Paul is called the knave of Christ; for pages and valets,
now indiscriminately used by various persons, were formerly only
allowed to persons of quality (escuiers), shield or armour-bearers.
Others again have fancied, that the knights themselves were
designed by the knaves ; because Hogier and Lahire, two names
on the French cards, were famous knights at the time cards were
supposed to have been invented.

The ruinous vice of gaming, so destructive in all places, and
so difficult, if not impossible, to be entirely restrained in any, has
engaged the attention of legislators in all the countries of Europe.
In France, Germany, and every part of the Continent, the attempt
has been made, and made in vain. This very circumstance,
perhaps, excited in a higher degree the indignation of the Emperor
Joseph (who would not admit any difficulty to stand in the way of
his reforming plans) ; he therefore prohibited all games of chance
whatever, under the severest penalties; and, in the year 1786,
this law was so rigidly enforced, that eleven officers of grenadiers
were in a single instance, not only deprived of their commissions,
but degraded to the humiliating condition of serving in the ranks
as common soldiers ; a punishment which had till then been con-
sidered as peculiar to the Russian service. In the year 1788, the
Prince Bishop of Liege issued a proclamation against gaming in
any part of his dominions, but particularly at Spa, under the
penalty of 200 gold florins for the first offence, and two years
imprisonment for the second.

ioo THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

By the 12th George II. the games of faro, hazard, &c. are
declared to be lotteries, subjecting the persons who keep them
to a penalty of two hundred pounds, and those who play, to fifty
pounds. One witness only is necessary to prove the offence
before a justice of the peace, who forfeits ten pounds if he
neglects to do his duty. By the 8th George I. the keeper of
a faro-table may be prosecuted for a lottery, where the penalty
is five hundred pounds. By the statute i6th Charles II. c. 7. if
any person, by playing or betting, lose more than one hundred
pounds at one time, he shall not be compellable to pay, and the
winner shall forfeit treble the amount. The statute Qth Anne,
c. 14. makes all bonds and other securities given for money won
at play, or money lent at the time to play withal, utterly void ;
and mortgages, or a like consideration, to be and enure to the
heir of the mortgager : and if any person lose more than ten
pounds at play, he may sue the winner, and recover it back ; and
if he does not, any other person may sue the winner for treble
the sum so lost, and the winner shall also be deemed infamous, and
surfer such corporal punishment as in case of wilful perjury. By
the statute i8th George II. c. 34. this statute is farther enforced,
and its deficiencies supplied ; and if any person be convicted,
upon information or indictment, of winning or losing ten or
twenty pounds within twenty-four hours, he shall forfeit five
times the sum. Such has been the anxiety of the legislature
to suppress faro-tables, and other games of chance, that the
several penalties have been inflicted, founded on the fullest
conviction of the pernicious consequences of such practices :
"and yet," says Mr. Colquhoun (in his treatise on the Police of
the Metropolis], "houses are opened, under the sanction of high-

GAMING-HOUSE 101

sounding names, where an indiscriminate mixture of all ranks are
to be found, from the finished sharper, to the raw inexperienced
youth ; and where all those evils exist in full force, which it was
the object of the legislature to remove."

When a species of gambling, ruinous to the morals and to the
fortunes of the younger part of the community, who move in the
middle and higher ranks of life, is suffered to be carried on in
direct opposition to a positive statute, surely blame must be
attached somewhere. When such abominable practices are en-
couraged and sanctioned by high-sounding names, when sharpers
and black-legs find an easy introduction into the houses of persons
of fashion, who assemble in multitudes together for the purpose
of playing at the odious and detestable games of hazard, which
the legislature has stigmatized with such marks of reprobation,
it is time for the civil magistrate to step forward, and to feel,
that in doing that duty which the laws of his country impose on
him, he is perhaps saving hundreds of families from ruin and
destruction, and preserving to the infants of thoughtless and
deluded parents that property which is their birthright.

Tacitus has observed (de Mor. Germ. c. 24.) that, by a wonder-
ful diversity of nature, the Germans are by turns the most indolent
and the most restless of mankind ; they delight in sloth, they
detest tranquillity : the languid soul, oppressed with its own
weight, anxiously required some new and powerful sensation,
and war and gaming were the gratifications most suited to this
temper of mind. In the dull intervals of peace, they were im-
moderately addicted to deep gaming and excessive drinking ;
both of which, by different means, alike relieved them from
the pain arising from want of employment : they gloried in

102 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

passing whole days and nights in this tumult of the passions,
and the blood of friends and relations often stained their
numerous assemblies. Such was the point of honour among
these barbarians, or rather depraved obstinacy, as Tacitus calls
it (ea est in pravd pervicacid, ipsifidem vacant), that the desperate
gamester, who had staked his person and liberty on the throw
of the die, patiently submitted to the decision of fortune, and
suffered himself to be bound hand and foot, and sold into remote
and cruel slavery, by his weaker and more lucky antagonist.

We shall conclude this article by an account of a determination
(Michaelmas term 1 760), in a cause which had been long depend-
ing between the executors of Sir John Bland and a French
gentleman. The case was nearly thus : Sir J. B. had lost at
play about 35O/. and borrowed 3OO/. more for the same purpose
of gaming ; afterwards, for the whole sum he drew a bill of ex-
change upon himself payable in London. According to the laws
of England, the security for the whole became void ; but the laws
of France make a distinction between a debt incurred at play,
and money lent for the purpose of gaming, the latter being re-
coverable as if lent for any other purpose : hence the cause
became curious, and gave occasion to very ingenious arguments.
It seemed reasonable, on one hand, to pay a regard to the law of
France in a matter transacted at Paris ; and, on the other hand,
it was urged, that the lender of the money accepted the payment
in London, and therefore became subject to the law of England.
It was at length, however, judiciously determined to set aside the
•whole security ; but, at the same time, to establish the contract for
the 30O/. as valid.

103

GUILDHALL

THE Guildhall of this vast city stands at the end of a
street running northward from Cheapside. Before the
year 1411, the court-hall, or bury, as it was called, was
held at Aldermansbury, so denominated from their meeting there.
Stow remembered its ruins, and says, that, in his days, it was used
as Carpenters'- Hall. It was succeeded by a new one, began in
1411, and finished in twenty years, by voluntary contributions, by
sums raised for pardons and offences, and by fines. It was con-
siderably damaged by the fire of London, but was soon repaired
and beautified, at the expence of 2$ool.

The entrance into this building is by a large gate under a
Gothic arch, over which rises the new front, erected in the year
1789; it consists of four fluted pilasters, between which are
Gothic windows. In the space above the great door, there are
two series of windows, above which is the city motto, " Domine,
dirige nos." The top of the building is crowned with the city
arms. In the side compartments are four ranges of windows,
and the top is terminated by reversed arches. The pilasters are
higher than the other parts of the front, and are crowned with
turrets in two stages ; the center one is decorated with the mace,
and the other two with the city sword. This front terminates
the end of King-street. The length of the Hall is 153 feet, its
breadth 48, and its height 55 ; so that it is capable of holding

io4 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

thousands of people : elections, and every species of city business,
are transacted here.

Within are portraits of some of our judges, who frequently try
causes under this roof. I must direct the reader's attention to
twelve of that order of peculiar merit : these are the portraits
of the able and virtuous Sir Matthew Hale, and his eleven co-
temporary judges ; who, after the dreadful calamity of 1666,
regulated the rebuilding of the city of London by such wise
rules, as to prevent the endless train of vexatious law-suits which
might have ensued, and been little less chargeable than the fire
itself had been. This was principally owing to Sir Matthew
Hale, who conducted the business, and sat with his brethren in
Clifford's Inn, to compose all differences between landlord and
tenant. These portraits were painted by Michael Wright, a good
painter, in the time of Charles II. and James II. and who died in
the year 1700. It was designed that Sir Peter Lely should have
painted these pictures, but he fastidiously refused to wait on the
judges at their chambers. Wright received sixty pounds apiece
for his work. In the year 1779, they were found to be in so bad
a condition, as to make it an even question with the committee
of city lands, whether they should be continued in their places,
or committed to the flames. To the eternal honour of Alderman
Townsend, his vote decided in favour of their preservation. He
recommended Mr. Roma, who, by his great skill in repairing
pictures, rescued them from the rage of time, so that they may
remain another century, a proof of the gratitude of our capital.
Among them is the portrait of Lord Campden, who, when chief
justice of the Common Pleas, obtained this mark of esteem from
the city by his decision against the legality of general warrants.

GUILDHALL 105

Facing the entrance are two tremendous figures, by some
named Gog and Magog ; by Stow, an ancient Briton and Saxon.
These enormous figures are in the Roman warlike dress, and
have laurel crowns on their heads. The one on the right leans
on a small shield, on which is emblazoned a black eagle, on a
field Or, and bears a long weapon, the lang-bard of the Germans,
used in guarding the halls of the great in ancient times : the
weapon, and the arms on the shield, are said to denote this
figure to be intended to represent a Saxon. The other, which
is said to represent an ancient Briton, has a sword by his side,
and a bow and quiver on his back. In his right hand is a long
pole, with a ball full of spikes suspended from its top, a weapon
which had been in use among our ancestors. The origin and
signification of these colossal figures, have given rise to many
ingenious conjectures, the most reasonable of which appears to
be that which considers them as types of municipal power ; such
statues being found in the places of judgment in many parts of
Germany, where they are called weich-bilds, and are set up as
symbolic of the privileges of the town, and protectors of its
freedom ; wich signifying town, and bild, a secure or privileged
place. The Roman costume is not so easily accounted for. It
was probably adopted by the sculptor for reasons similar to those
which induce sculptors of the present day, to represent modern
heroes in the dress of the ancients ; an absurdity which has con-
tinued too long, and cannot be got rid of too soon.

At the bottom of the room is a marble group, of good work-
manship (with London and Commerce, whimpering like two
marred children), executed, soon after the year 1770, by Mr.
Bacon. The principal figure was also a giant in his day, the raw

106 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

head and bloody bones to the good folks at St. James's, which,
while remonstrances were in fashion, annually haunted the court
in terrific forms. The eloquence dashed in the face of majesty,
alas ! proved in vain. The spectre is here condemned to silence ;
but his patriotism may be read by his admiring fellow-citizens, as
long as the melancholy marble can retain the tale of the affrighted
times.

The first time this Hall was used on festive occasions, was by
Sir John Shaw, goldsmith, knighted in the field of Bosworth.
After building the essentials of good kitchens and other offices,
in the year 1500, he gave here the mayor's feast, which before
had usually been done in Grocers'- Hall. None of their bills of
fare have reached us, but doubtlessly they were very magnificent :
they at length grew to such excess, that, in the time of Philip and
Mary, a sumptuary law was made, to restrain the expence both
of provisions and liveries : but, I suspect, as it lessened the
honour of the city, it was not long observed; for, in 1554, the
city thought proper to renew the order of council, by way of
reminding their fellow - citizens of their relapse into luxury.
Amongst the great feasts given here on public occasions, may
be reckoned that given in 1612, on occasion of the unhappy
marriage of the Prince Palatine with Elizabeth, daughter of
James I. who, in defiance of the remonstrances of his better-
judging father-in-law, rushed on the usurpation of the dominion
of another monarch, and brought great misery on himself and
his amiable spouse. The next was in 1641, when Charles I.
returned from his imprudent and inefficacious journey into Scot-
land. In the midst of the most factious and turbulent times,
when every engine was set to work to annihilate the regal power,

GUILDHALL 107

the city, under its lord mayor, Sir William Acton, made a feast
unparalleled in history for its magnificence. All external respect
was paid to his majesty ; the last he ever experienced in the in-
flamed city. Of this entertainment we know no more, than that
it consisted of five hundred dishes : but of that which was given
in our happier days to his present majesty, in the mayoralty of
Sir Samuel Fludyer, the bill of fare* is given us. This I print ;
and, as a parallel to it, that of another royal feast, given in 1487,
at Whitehall, on occasion of the coronation of Elizabeth, queen
of Henry VII. whom he treats with characteristical economy,
notwithstanding a kingdom was her dower. — PENNANT.

* The King's Table, George III. 1761.

FIRST SERVICE.

£. i. d. £. j. d.

12 Dishes of olio, turtle, pottages, I Ditto tondron devaux a la

and soups 24 2 o Dauzie 220

12 Ditto of fish, viz. John Dories, I Harrico I I o

red mullets, &c 24 2 o i Dish popiets of veale glasse .140

7 Ditto roast venison . . . . 10 o o 2 Ditto fillets of lamb a la comte 220

3 Westphaliahams, consume and 2 Ditto comports of squabs ..220

richly ornamented ....660 2 Ditto fillets of beef Marinate .300

2 Dishes of pullets a la royale .220 2 Ditto of mutton a la Memo-

2 Ditto of tongues Espagnole .330 ranee 220

6 Dishes chicken a la reine ..660 32 Ditto of fine vegetables . . .16160

SECOND SERVICE.

6 Dishes fine ortolans ....2540 4 Dishes woodcocks ....440

10 Ditto quails 1500 2 Ditto pheasants 33°

10 Ditto notts 30 o o 4 Ditto teal 33°

I Ditto wheat-ears I I o 4 Ditto snipes 33°

i Goodevau patte I 10 o 2 Ditto partridges 220

i Perrigoe pie i 10 o 2 Ditto patties royal ....300

I Dish pea-chicks I i o

io8

THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

The roof of the Great Hall is flat, and divided into pannels :
the walls on the north and south sides are adorned with four
Gothic demi-pillars, painted white with blue veins, and gilt

THIRD SERVICE.

I Ragout royal
8 Dishes of fim
10 Ditto fine green peas .
3 Ditto aspai
3 Ditto fine fat livers
3 Ditto fine combs
5 Ditto green truffles
5 Ditto artichokes

vinciale 2

£. s. d.

£. t, J.

I I O

5 Dishes mushrooms au blanc .

2 12 6

reen morells .

880

i Ditto cardons a la Bejamde .

o 10 6

peas. . . .

10 IO 0

i Ditto knots of eggs ....

o 10 6

heads . . .

220

i Ditto ducks' tongues ....

o 10 6

-ers ....

I ii 6

3 Ditto of pith

i ii 6

i n 6

I Ditto of truffles in oil ...

o 10 6

fles . . . .

? 5 O

4 Ditto of pullets . ...

2 2O

j j

:s a la Pro-

2 Ditto ragout mille

220

12 6

FOURTH SERVICE.

2 Curious ornamented cakes . .
12 Dishes of blanc-mangers, re-
presenting different figures .

2 12 o 12 Ditto clear marbrays . . . .14 80

16 Dishes fine cut pastry . . .16160

12 12 o 2 Ditto mille feuilles , . . . i 10 6

THE CENTER OF THE TABLE.

i Grand pyramid of demies of

shell-fish of various sorts ..220
32 Cold things of sorts, viz.
temples, shapes, landscapes
in jellies, savoury cakes, and
almond gothes 33 12 o

2 Grand epergnes filled with fine
pickles, and garnished round
with plates of sorts, as las-
picks, rolards, &c 6

6 o

Total of the King's Table .374 i o

The whole of this day's entertainment cost the city 6,898/. $s. \d. A committee had
been appointed out of the body of aldermen, who most deservedly received the thanks of
the lord mayor and whole body corporate, for the skilful discharge of this important
trust. The feast consisted of four hundred and fourteen dishes, besides the dessert ; and
the hospitality of the city, and the elegance of the entertainment, might vie with any
that had ever preceded.

GUILDHALL

109

capitals, upon which are the royal arms, and those of Edward
the Confessor.

Nearly fronting the gate, are nine or ten steps, leading to the

Nuptial Table, Henry VII.

FIRST COURSE.

A warner byfor the course.
Sheldes of brawn in armor.
Frumetye with venison.
Bruet riche.

Hart powdered graunt chars.
Fesant intram de royall.
Swan with chawdron.
Capons of high goe.
Lampervey in galantine.
Crane with cretney.
Pik in Latymer sawce.
Heronusew with his sique.

Carpe in foile.

Kid reversed.

Perche in jelaye depte.

Coneys of High Grece.

Moten royall richly garnyshed.

Valance baked.

Custarde royall.

Tarte poleyn.

Leyse damask.

Frutt synoper.

Frutt formage.

A soteltie, with writing of balads.

SECOND COURSE.

A warner byfor the course.

Joly ypocras.

Mamone, with lezenges of golde.

Pekok in hakell.

Bittowre.

Feswante.

Browes.

Egrets in beorwetye.

Cokks.

Partrieche.

Sturgyn freshe fewell.

Plovers.

Rabet sowker.

Seyll in fenyn entirely served richely.

Red shankks.

Snytes.

Quayles.

Larkes in graylede.

Creves de Endence.

Venesone in paste royall.

Quince baked.

Marche payne royall.

A cold bake mete flourishede.

Lethe ciprus.

Lethe rube.

Fruter augeo.

Fruter mouniteque.

Castells of jelly in temple-wise

made.
A soteltie.

no THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

Lord Mayor's Court, over which is a balcony, supported at each
end by four iron pillars, in the form of palm-trees ; by these is a
small inclosure on each side on the top of the steps, used on some
occasions as offices for clerks to write in. The Chamberlain's
Office is at the right hand at the head of the steps. In the front

These sotelties, or subtilities, as they were called, were the ornamental part of the
dessert, and were extremely different from those in present use. In the enthronization
feast of Archbishop Warenham, on March 9th, 1504, the first course was preceded by a
warner, conveyed upon a rounde boorde of eight panes, with eight towers embattled,
and made with flowers, standynge on every towere a bedil in his habile, with his staffe ;
and in the same boorde, first, the king sytting in his Parliament, with his lordes about
hym in their robes, and Saint Wylliam, lyke an archbishop, sytting on the ryght hand of
the kyng : then the Chancellor of Oxford, with other doctors about him, presented the
said Lord Wylliam, kneeling, in a doctor's habite, unto the kyng, with his commend of
vertue and cunnynge, &c. &c. And on the third boorde of the same warner, the Holy
Ghoste appeared, with bryght beams proceeding from hym of the gifts of grace toward
the sade lord of the feaste. This is a specimen of the ancient sotelties. This was a
Lenten feaste of the most luxurious kind : many of the sotelties were suited to the
occasion, and of the legendary nature, others historical ; but all, without doubt, contrived
" with great cunnynge."

To these scenes of luxury and gluttony, let me oppose the simple fare at the feast of
wax-chandlers, on October 28th, 1478. These were a flourishing company in the days
of old, when gratitude to saints called so frequently for lights. How many thousands of
wax-candles were consumed on these occasions, and what quantities the expiatory offer-
ings of private persons, none can enumerate. Candlemas-day wasted thousands, and
those all blessed by the priests, and adjured in solemn terms : " I adjure thee, O waxen
creature, that thou repel the devil and his sprights," &c. &c. Certainly this company,
which was incorporated in 1484, might have afforded a more delicate feast, than

s. d. s. d.

Two loins of mutton, and two loins One dozen of pigeons 07

of veal 14 A hundred eggs o 8£

A loin of beef 04 A goose 06

A leg of mutton 02^ A gallon of red wine 08

A pig 04 A kilderkin of ale 08

A capon 06

A coney 02 60

GUILDHALL in

of this balcony is a clock, on the frame of which are carved the
four cardinal virtues, with the figure of Time on the top, and
a cock on each side of him. At the east end are the king's arms,
between the pictures of his Majesty King George II. and Queen
Caroline ; close by the first is Queen Anne, and by the last his
Majesty King George I. : and at the same end of the Hall, but on
the north and south sides, are the pictures of King William III.
and Queen Mary, fronting each other.

On the east end of the Hall is held the Court of Hustings
weekly, and occasionally that of the Exchequer ; and before the
Hustings, is held the Court of Conscience. At the west end is
held alternately the Sheriffs Court for the Poultry and Wood-
street counters. Opposite to the Chamberlain's Office, already
mentioned as situated up the steps underneath the giants, is the
Office of Auditors of the City Accounts ; within which is the
Lord Mayor's Court-Office, where the lord chief justice occasion-
ally sits at nisi prius. On the west side of the Mayor's Court-
Office is the Court of Orphans, where the lord chief justice of
the Common Pleas occasionally sits : adjoining to this court, on the
north, is the old Council-Chamber, now used by the commissioners
of bankrupts ; contiguous to it is the new Council-Chamber.
Beneath the Mayor's Court is the Town-Clerk's Office, where
are deposited the city archives. To the east and north, are the
residences of the chamberlain and town-clerk ; near which are
two rooms, wherein the business of bankrupts is dispatched.
Contiguous to the north-west is the kitchen ; in the porch is the
Comptroller's Office, and over it the Irish Chamber. Over the
piazzas on the west, are the Common Serjeant's, Remembrancer's,
and City Solicitor's Offices.

H2 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

Adjacent to Guildhall, is Guildhall Chapel or College, a Gothic
building, founded by Peter Fanlore, Adam Francis, and Henry
Frowick, citizens, about the year 1299. The establishment was
a warden, seven priests, three clerks, and four choristers. Edward
VI. granted it to the mayor and commonalty of the city of
London. Here used to be service once a week, and also at the
election of the mayor, and before the mayor's feast, to deprecate
indigestions and all plethoric evils. At present divine service is
discontinued, the chapel being used as a justice-room.

Adjoining to it once stood a fair library, furnished with books
belonging to Guildhall, built by the executors of the famous
Whittington. Stow says, that " the Protector Somerset sent to
borrow some of the books, with a promise of restoring them ;
three carries were laden with them, but they never more were
returned."

Guildhall is at the end of a tolerable vista, which shews the
building to some advantage : the entrance would have been better
at the lower end than in the middle, for by this means all the
beauty of the perspective is lost. The ascent of steps across
the Hall not being opposite the gate, as it ought to have been,
is another material defect. A noble front in the situation of
Guildhall, would have had an advantage hardly to be met with
elsewhere, and afforded the architect a fine opportunity of dis-
playing his genius : this opportunity was lost, or at least neglected,
when the alteration was made in the year 1789.

Soon after William the Conqueror had obtained possession of
London, he paid a visit to his Norman dominions ; and at his
return, in the second year of his reign, he was received by the
citizens with a solemn procession : in return for which, he granted

GUILDHALL 113

them a charter, written in their own language, which consists of
four lines and a quarter, beautifully written in Saxon characters
upon a slip of parchment of about six inches in length and one
inch in breadth. This charter is preserved in the city archives
with the utmost care and attention. The seal is of white wax,
which being broken, the pieces are carefully secured in an orange-
coloured silken bag : on one side the Conqueror is on horseback,
on the reverse he is sitting in a chair of state. The rim of the
seal being almost destroyed, the only letters which remain are
M. WILL. The following is an accurate translation :

"William the King greets William the Bishop, and Godfrey
the Portreve, and all the burgesses within London, both French
and English : And I declare, that I grant you to be all law
worthy, as you were in the days of King Edward the Confessor :
And I grant, that every child shall be his father's heir after his
father's days ; and I will not suffer any person to do you wrong.
God keep you."

The second charter, granted shortly after by William, is a
curious instance of inadvertency in granting lands almost without
specification, \x> people without any personal designation of capacity
or name, or indeed without so much as the date of the year or
the reign. We can only attempt to account for this neglect, by
supposing it to refer to some other agreement in writing.

" William the King greets William the Bishop, and Swega the
Sheriff, and all my thanes in East Saxony ; whom I hereby
acquaint, that, pursuant to an agreement, I have granted to the
people my servants the hyde of land at Gyddesdune : And also,
that I will not suffer either the French or English to hurt them in
any thing."

n. — i

ii4 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

The corporation of the city of London consists of the right
honourable the lord mayor, the aldermen, and common council.
Their rights and privileges are of most ancient date. We have
quoted the two first charters, and refer to the note * for a state-
ment of others.

About the year 1284, according to Maitland, the city was
divided into twenty-four wards, each having an alderman ; and
each ward chose a certain number of "the inhabitants to be of
" the council of the aldermen, which council were to be convened
"by the aldermen, and their advice to be followed in all affairs
"of public concern relating to the city of London." The number
of the common council was then only forty-four. At present
there are twenty-six aldermen, and two hundred and thirty-six
common-council-men : the place of their assembling on public
business, is called the Council-Chamber. No business can be
transacted unless forty members (including aldermen) are present ;
and the opinion of the majority, in all cases, is decisive, f Until
lately their consultations were private, but strangers are now
admitted below the bar, which, upon interesting occasions, is
much crowded. The chamber is 56 feet in length and 29 feet
in width. At the upper end the lord mayor presides in the

* CHARTERS.— ist Henry I.; without date, Henry II.; 5th and 8th Richard I.;
ist, ditto, ditto, and i6th John; nth (five charters), 37th, joth, 52d, and anno 1270,
Henry III.; 26th Edward I.; 4th and isth Edward II.; ist, ditto, nth, I5th, and
50th (two charters) Edward III. ; ist and 7th Richard II. ; ist Henry IV. ; 2d, 3d, and
i8th Edward IV.; anno 1505, Henry VII.; loth Henry VIII.; anno 1550, Edward VI.;
2d, 4th, and nth James I. ; I3th Charles I. ; anno 1663, Charles II.

t The principal speakers upon these occasions are usually, of the aldermen, Messrs.
Combe, Price, Shaw, Birch, Wood, and Atkins ; of the common council, Messrs. Quin,
Waithman, Dixon, Goodbehere, Jacks, Bell, Slade, Box, and Kemble.

GUILDHALL 115

center of an elevated bench : the recorder sits on his right hand ;
the aldermen are ranged according to seniority : seats are also
allotted to the sheriffs on the bench. The different officers of
the court are seated at a table immediately under the lord mayor,
on which are placed the mace and sword of state, &c.

The common-council-men are seated promiscuously on rows
of benches elevated a little above each other, along the room,
the whole forming a coup d'ozil truly respectable. The Council-
Chamber is lighted principally from a dome in the ceiling, which
is divided into different compartments, of handsome appearance,
but ill-adapted for discussion, as the voice is broken and lost
before it can reach half the audience, which was not the case
previous to its alteration, which seems to have originated in a
desire to appropriate the room for the reception of paintings ;
but in this respect also it is defective, as the light on some of the
pictures is far from being favourable.

The pictures were presented by Mr. Alderman Boydell. The
reasons which influenced him to this act of generosity and public
spirit, are stated by himself thus :

" First, to shew my respect for the corporation and my fellow-
citizens :

" Secondly, to give pleasure to the public and foreigners in
general :

"Thirdly, to be of service to the artists, by shewing their
works to the greatest advantage ; and

" Fourthly, for the mere purpose of pleasing myself."

The four angels under the cupola are painted in fresco, by
J. F. Rigaud, Esq. R.A. representing, by allegorical emblems,
I. PROVIDENCE. III. WISDOM.

II. INNOCENCE. IV. HAPPINESS.

n6 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

We are willing to admit, that painting in fresco is better
calculated than painting in oil for large public buildings, such
as churches, public halls, &c. ; because the objects represented
are seen more distinctly at a greater distance, whatever may be
the situation of the windows, or even by candle-light. But from
whatever cause the circumstance arises, nobody can view these
pictures without feeling infinite regret at their present state,
which we are rather inclined to impute to some defect in the
composition of the plaister, than any want of ability in the
excellent painter by whom they were executed ; and we are
the more inclined to this opinion, as we understand some other
performances of the same artist, executed prior to these, remain
in a perfect state ; incontestible proofs, that the humidity of the
atmosphere in this country does not necessarily destroy works in
fresco within a given period.

No. V.

CONJUGAL AFFECTION, or INDUSTRY and
PRUDENCE.

Painted by Robert Smirke, Esq. R.A.

No. VI.

The MISERIES of CIVIL WARS.

A field of battle near Towton, in Yorkshire, between the
houses of York and Lancaster, on the 2Qth March, 1461.
Painted byjosia/t Boy dell, Esq.

No. VII.

The Ceremony of administering the Oath to Alderman
NEWNHAM, Lord Mayor of London, on November 8, 1782,

GUILDHALL 117

upon the Hiistings at Guildhall ; wherein are represented the
portraits of the lord mayor, the whole court of aldermen,
many of the common council, the principal officers of the
city, and several ladies and gentlemen, spectators.

Painted by Mr. William Miller.

No. VIII.

LORD MAYOR'S DAY on the WATER, November gtk.
Companion to No. VII. painted by Richard Paton, Esq.

No. IX.

Sir WILLIAM WALWORTH, Lord Mayor of London,
killing WAT TYLER in Smithfield ; for which glorious
action King Richard II. conferred on him the honour of
knighthood,* and added the dagger to the city arms.

Painted by James Northcote, Esq. R.A.

* We shall place before our readers an extract from Stow, SURVEY, p. 221, upon this
observation.

" It hath also been and is now grown to a common opinion, that, in regard of this
service done by the said William Walworth against the rebell, King Richard added to
the arms of this citie (which was argent, a plain crosse, gulas,) a sword or dagger (so
they terme it), whereof I have read no such recorde ; but, to the contrarie, I finde that,
in the fourth yeare of Richard the Second, in a full assembly made in the upper chamber
of Guildhall, summoned by this William Walworth, the maior, as well of aldermen as of
the common counsell in every warde, for certaine affaires concerning the king, it was
there by common consent agreed and ordained, that the olde seale of the office of
maioraltie of the citie being very smal, old, unapt, and uncomelye for the honor of the
citie, should be broken, and one other new should be had, which the said maior
commanded to be made artificially and honourable for the exercise of the said office
thereafter in place of the other, &c. This new seale seemeth to bee made before
William Walworth was knighted, for he is not there intitled Sir, as afterwards he was ;

n8 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

No. X.

The MURDER of DAVID RIZIO in the Presence of
MARY, Queen of Scots, by her Husband, Lord DARN LEY,
and Lord RUTHVEN, in the queens bedchamber, on the
9th March, 1566.

Painted by John Opie, Esq. R.A.

No. XI.

Portrait of Lord HEATH FIELD.
Painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, president of the Royal Academy.

GIBRALTAR.

FOUR PICTURES.

No. XII.

The brave and gallant Defence of GIBRALTAR against the united
Forces of Spain and France, on the afternoon of September 13,
1782, representing the Gun-Boats setting fire to the Town, and the
Garrison defending the Place.

No. XIII.

The brave and gallant Defence of GIBRALTAR on the night
between the i3th and i4th September, 1782, with the Spanish
Gun-boats in a blaze.

and certaine it is, that the same new seale then made, is now in use, and none other, in
that office of the maioraltie; which may suffice to aunswere the former fable, without
shewing of any evidence sealed with the olde seale, which was the crosse and sword of
Saint Paule, and not the dagger of William Walworth."

GUILDHALL 119

No. XIV.

The brave and gallant Defence of GIBRALTAR on the i4th
September, 1782, where the English are employed in taking up
the Spanish and French Sailors in great distress.

No. XV.

The Relief of GIBRALTAR on the nth October, 1782, by the
British Fleet under the Command of Admiral Lord HOWE, with
the Spanish and French Fleets in the distance.

No. XVI.
The Portrait of Lord RODNEY, after Monnyer.

No. XVII.

The Representation of his Majesty's Fleet under the Command
of Lord RODNEY, Admiral of the White, breaking the Line of the
French Fleet on the I2th April, 1782.

No. XVIII.

The glorious, brilliant, and decisive Victory gained under the
Command of Lord RODNEY, over the French Fleet, on the i2th
April, 1782.

N.B. These two engagements painted by Mr. Dodd, after
small pictures by Mr. Paton.

No. XIX.
MINERVA.

Painted by Richard Westall, Esq. R.A.

120 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

No. XX.
APOLLO.

Painted by Gavin Hamilton, Esq.

No. XXI.

The BATTLE of AGINCOURT, fought by King HENRY V.
on Thursday the 25th October, 1415.

Painted by Josiak Boy dell, Esq.

No. XXII.

A Sky painted on the ceiling, with Angels holding up two
chandeliers, at the upper end of the room.

No. XXIII.

The same as the preceding, at the bottom of the room.
Painted in distemper byy. F. Rigaud, Esq. R.A.

There is likewise a good portrait of Alderman BOYDELL, which
cost the corporation two hundred guineas.

The following inscription is engraved on a large silver plate,
inserted in the wall at the lower end of the room :

"At a Court of Common Council, February 27, 1800, on the

motion of Mr. Deputy Goodbehere, it was resolved,
" That the members of this corporation, grateful for the delight
afforded to them, as often as they assemble in this court, by the
splendid collection of paintings presented by Mr. Alderman
Boydell, entertaining an affectionate sense of the honour done
them by that celebrated patron of arts, and proud of the relation
in which they stand to him as fellow-citizens, do, in testimony of

GUILDHALL 121

these feelings, request him to sit for his portrait to an artist of
his own choice : conscious, however, that hereby they are only
requesting him to confer a new gratification on themselves and
their successors ; and unwilling that, amid such and so many
remembrances of sublime characters and illustrious actions, his
portrait should be wanting, who, discerning and munificent in
the encouragement of merit in others, combined in his own
character private integrity with public spirit, and solid honesty
with a highly cultivated taste."
V. Woodthorpe, sc.

We cannot conclude this account of the pictures without some
notice of the worthy alderman by whom they were presented,
because we think so noble an instance of disinterested liberality
deserves to be perpetuated. His active life affords to the rising
generation a lesson of what may be effected by integrity, per-
severance, and abilities ; and we have great pleasure in pointing
out the venerable dead for the instruction and imitation of the
living.

Alderman Boydell was born upon the igth January, in the year
1719, at Dorrington in Shropshire. Of the place of his nativity
his grandfather had been the vicar, and his father resided there,
professing the business of a land-surveyor, to which he proposed
bringing up his son ; but his intentions fortunately received a
different direction, from one of those trifling circumstances which
frequently determine matters of more importance. We are told,
that an accidental sight of the delineation of a building which he
had been accustomed to contemplate with pleasure, excited an
astonishment in his young mind easier to be conceived than
described, and made such an impression, as ultimately determined

122 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

him to become an engraver. In pursuance of this resolution, he
walked up to the metropolis, and at twenty-one years of age
bound himself apprentice for seven years to Mr. Tomas, the
engraver of that very picture which had so strongly affected
him. During his apprenticeship he attended the academy in
St. Martin's-lane, to perfect himself in drawing; his leisure
hours were devoted to perspective and learning French. At
the end of six years he purchased the remaining year of the
term from his master, and shortly after married. This was in
the memorable year of 1 745 ; when he published six small
landscapes, designed and engraved by himself: he afterwards
published many views in the neighbourhood of London, at the
low price of one shilling. He engraved several prints from
Brocking, Bercham, and Salvator Rosa. His perseverance
and industry having enabled him to complete a great number
of prints, he collected the whole in one port-folio, and published
it at five guineas. He very modestly observes, that it was by
the profit arising from this work he was enabled to encourage
young artists, and flatters himself he thereby tended to improve
the arts in this country. Having been eminently successful in
the improvement of the art of engraving, he directed his attention
to the establishment of a School of Painting. For this purpose
he projected a plan, which, considered as the undertaking of one
man, is great and extensive even in this age of enlarged specula-
tion.

The Shakespeare Gallery introduced a new aera in the history
of the art in this kingdom, and abundantly proves, that encourage-
ment alone was wanting to render the English artists equal, and
in some respects superior, to those of any other country. In a

GUILDHALL

letter to Mr. Alderman Anderson, published in March 1804,
Mr. A. Boydell states, with great perspicuity and with charac-
teristic simplicity, the reasons which induced him to solicit
parliamentary sanction for the disposal of this gallery; and to
that letter the limits of our publication oblige us to refer. In
the course of a long life, dedicated to his favourite pursuit (the
cultivation of the arts), he acquired the confidence of all ranks,
and passed through the several offices of sheriff, alderman, lord
mayor, and magistrate, with the universal approbation of his

fellow-citizens.

A too eager attention to his official duties occasioned his death ;
a few days previous to which, he went to attend at the Sessions-
House in the Old Bailey, and being always early, arrived there
before the fires were lighted ; to which circumstance is attributed
the cold and inflammation of his lungs, by which the life of this
excellent and useful man was terminated, on the i ith of December,
1804, in the eightieth year of his age. He was interred on the
i gth of December, in a most respectable manner, his remains
being attended by the lord mayor, several of the aldermen, and
many of his numerous relatives and friends.

GUILDHALL, COURT OF KING'S BENCH, AT A MEETING
OF CREDITORS.

No person can have attended the meetings under a commission
of bankruptcy, without feeling the necessity of a more convenient
place for holding them. The number of failures, which naturally
increase with the trade and commerce of the country, require a
greater number of commissioners, and places more appropriate
and distinct, than are at present allotted, in order that effectual

i24 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

justice may be done to the unfortunate bankrupt on the one hand,
and to the injured creditors on the other. There is a great deal
of character in the several figures represented in the plate, and
the grouping possesses no inconsiderable share of merit.

The word bankrupt is supposed to be derived either from
bancus, a tradesman's counter, and ruptus, broken, or from the
French words, banque and route : the first English statute con-
cerning this offence is "against such as do make bankrupt" which
is a literal translation of the French expression, qui font banque
route.

The laws of England, cautious of encouraging prodigality and
extravagance, allow the benefit of the bankrupt laws to none but
actual traders : but as trade cannot be carried on without mutual
credit, the contracting of debts to facilitate and carry on trade
and commerce is almost necessary ; and if, from accidental
calamities, or from those losses which no reasonable degree of
prudence or foresight can prevent, a trader is unable to pay his
debts, it is a misfortune, and not a fault. The law affords a com-
passionate remedy to his misfortune, which it denies to his faults ;
since, at the same time that it provides for the security of com-
merce by rendering a trader liable to be made a bankrupt for the
benefit of his creditors as well as himself, it discourages extra-
vagance by extending the benefit to such traders only as are
industrious and unfortunate. The first statute relating to
bankruptcy was made against the Lombards, who, after they
had contracted obligations to their creditors, suddenly absconded
out of the realm. It was therefore enacted, "that if any merchant
"of the company acknowledge himself bound in that manner, that
"then the company shall answer the debt; so that another mer-

a -i

- I

Cfl t;

a 3

HERALDS' OFFICE 125

"chant, who is not of the company, shall not be thereby aggrieved
"or impeached."

The first statute concerning any English bankrupts was the
34th Henry VIII. which has been altered by I3th Elizabeth,
ist and 2ist James I. 5th George II. and the subsequent statutes
of George III.

HEKALDS' OFFICE

HERALDS' OFFICE, or the College of Arms, is
situated upon St. Benet's Hill, near Doctors' Commons,
at the south-west end of St. Paul's cathedral. This
office was destroyed by the dreadful conflagration in 1666, and
rebuilt about three years after. It is a square, inclosed by
regular brick buildings, which are extremely neat, without
expensive decorations. The floors are raised above the level
of the ground, and there is an ascent to them by flights of plain
steps. The principal front is in the lower story ornamented with
rustic, upon which are placed four Ionic pilasters, that support an
angular pediment. The sides, which are conformable to this,
have arched pediments, that are also supported by Ionic pilasters.
On the inside are, a large room for keeping the Court of
Honour, a library, with houses and apartments for the kings,
heralds, and pursuivants.

This corporation consists of thirteen members, viz. three kings

126 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

at arms, six heralds at arms, and four pursuivants at arms ; who
are nominated by the earl marshal of England, as ministers
subordinate to him in the execution of their offices, and hold
their places by patent during their good behaviour. They are
all the king's servants in ordinary ; and therefore, in the vacancy
of the office of earl marshal, have been sworn into their offices
by the lord chamberlain. Their meetings are termed chapters,
which they hold the first Thursday in every month, or oftener
if necessary, wherein matters are determined by a majority of
voices of the kings and heralds, each king having two voices.

The kings are Garter, Clarenceux, and Norroy. Garter was
instituted by King Henry V. in the year 1417, for the service of
the most noble order of the Garter ; and for the dignity of that
order, he was made sovereign, within the office of arms, over all
the other officers subject to the crown of England. By the
constitution of his office, he must be a native of England, and
a gentleman bearing arms. To him belongs the correction of
arms, and all ensigns of arms usurped or borne unjustly ; and the
power of granting arms to deserving persons, and supporters to
the nobility and knights of the Bath. It is likewise his office to
go next before the sword in solemn processions, none interposing
except the marshal ; to administer the oath to all the officers of
arms ; to have a habit like the register of the order ; with baron's
service in the court, and lodgings in Windsor castle. He bears
his white rod, with a banner of the ensigns of the order thereon,
before the sovereign. When any lord enters the Parliament
Chamber, it is his post to assign him his place according to his
dignity and degree ; to carry the ensigns of the order before
foreign princes ; and to do, or procure to be done, what the

HERALDS' OFFICE 127

sovereign shall enjoin relating to the order ; for the execution of
which he has a salary of ioo/. a year, payable at the Exchequer,
and ioo/. more out of the revenue of the order, besides his fees.

The others are called Provincial Kings, and their provinces
together comprise the whole kingdom of England ; that of
Clarenceux comprehending all to the south of the river Trent,
and that of Norroy all to the north of that river : but though
these provincials have existed time immemorial, they were not
constituted to these offices by the titles of Clarenceux and
Norroy before Edward III.

Clarenceux is thus named from the Duke of Clarence, the
third son of King Edward III. It is his duty, according to his
commission, to visit his province, to survey the arms of all
persons, &c. ; to marshal the funerals of all persons in his
province, not under the direction of Garter ; and in his province
to grant arms, with the consent of the earl marshal. Before the
institution of Garter, he was the principal officer of arms, and in
the vacancy of Garter, he executes his office. Besides his fees,
he has a salary from the Exchequer of 4O/. a year.

The duty and office of Norroy, or North Roy, that is, North
King, is the same on the north of the Trent, as that of Claren-
ceux on the south. The kings of arms were formerly elected by
the sovereign with great solemnity upon some high festival ; but
since the ceremonies used at the creation of peers have been laid
aside, the kings of arms have been created by the earl marshal,
by virtue of the sovereign's warrant. Upon this occasion he
takes his oath, wine is poured upon his head out of a gilt cup
with a cover, his title is pronounced, and he is invested with a
tabart of royal arms, richly embroidered upon velvet, a collar of

128 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

S. S. with two portcullisses of silver gilt, a gold chain, with a
badge of his office ; and the earl marshal places on his head the
crown of a king of arms, which formerly resembled a ducal
coronet, but since the Restoration it has been adorned with
leaves resembling those of the oak, and circumscribed, according
to ancient custom, with the words, Miserere met Deus secundum
magnam misericordiam tuam. Garter has also a mantle of
crimson satin, as an officer of the order ; with a white rod or
sceptre, with the sovereign's arms on the top, which he bears
in the presence of the sovereign ; and he is sworn in a chapter
of the Garter, the sovereign investing him with the ensigns
of his office.

The kings of arms are distinguished from each other by their
respective badges, which they may wear at all times, either in a
gold chain or a ribbon, Garter's being blue, and the Provincials'
purple.

The six heralds are, Windsor, Chester, Lancaster, York,
Richmond, and Somerset, who take place according to seniority
in office. They are created with the same ceremonies as the
kings, taking the oath of an herald, and are invested with a
tabart of the royal arms, embroidered upon satin, not so rich as
the kings', but better than the pursuivants', and a silver collar of
S. S. They are esquires by creation, and have a salary of
26/. \y. /\d. per annum, and fees according to their degree.

The kings and heralds are sworn upon a sword as well as
the book, to shew that they are military as well as civil officers.
The four pursuivants, who are Rougecroix, Bluemantle, Rouge-
dragon, and Portcullis, are also created by the earl marshal,
when they take their oath of a pursuivant, and are invested with

HERALDS' OFFICE 129

a tabart of the royal arms upon damask. They have a salary of
2O/. a year, with fees according to their degree. It is the duty
of the heralds and pursuivants to attend in the public office, one
of each class together, by a monthly rotation.

Besides these particular duties of the several classes, it is the
general duty both of the kings, heralds, and pursuivants, to
attend his majesty at the House of Peers, and, upon certain
high festivals, to the Chapel Royal ; to make proclamations, to
marshal the proceedings at all public processions, to attend the
installation of the knights of the Garter, &c.

All these officers have apartments in the college annexed to
their respective offices ; they have likewise a public hall, in which
is a court for the earl marshal, where courts of chivalry were
formerly held, and the officers of arms attended in their tabarts,
his lordship being present. The plate is an accurate representa-
tion of this court, in the costume of that period. Although these
officers are of great antiquity, little mention is made of their
titles or names before the time of Edward III.: in his reign
heraldry was in high esteem, as appears by the patents of the
kings of arms, which refer to that period, from which time we
find the officers of arms are employed abroad and at home both
as military and civil officers.

In the 5th year of Henry V. arms were regulated, and at a
chapter of the kings and heralds held at the siege of Rouen, in
Normandy, on the 5th January, 1420, they formed themselves
into a regular society, with a common seal, receiving Garter as
their chief.

The first charter of incorporation was granted by King
Richard III. who assigned them a proper office and residence :
this charter was confirmed by Edward VI. and Queen Mary ;

II. K

i3o THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

the latter of whom not only incorporated them again, but also
granted them the messuage or house called Derby-place, which
formerly belonged to the Earl of Derby, and was destroyed by
the fire of London.

The arms of the college and corporation are, argent St.
George's cross between four doves azure, one wing open to fly,
the other close, with this motto — DILIGENT AND SECRET. Crest,
a dove rising on a ducal coronet, supporters on either side a lion,
guardant, argent, gorged with a ducal coronet. Their arms,
crest, and supporters are upon the common seal, thus circum-
scribed : " Sigillum commune Corporationis Officii Armorum.

Their public library contains a large and valuable collection of
original records of the pedigrees and arms of families, funeral
certificates of the nobility and gentry, public ceremonials, and
other branches of heraldry and antiquities ; and there have been
few works published, relating to the history and antiquities of
this kingdom, in which the authors have not received some
assistance from this library, where attendance is daily given by
two officers.

The jurisdiction of the Court Military, or Court of Chivalry,
is declared by statute 3d Richard II. c. 2. to be this: "That it
"hath cognizance of contracts touching deeds of arms and of
" war out of the realm, and also of things which touch war
" within the realm, which cannot be determined or discussed by
"the common law ; together with other usages and customs to the
"same matters appertaining." So that (according to Sir W.
Blackstone) wherever the common law can give redress, this
court hath no jurisdiction: which has thrown it entirely out of use
as to the matter of contracts, all such being usually cognizable in
the courts of Westminster-Hall, if not directly, at least by fiction

HERALDS' OFFICE 13 r

of law : as, if a contract be made at Gibraltar, the plaintiff may
suppose it made at Northampton ; for the locality, or place of
making it, is of no consequence with regard to the validity of
the contract.

The words, "other usages and customs" support the claim of
this court, i. To give relief to such of the nobility and gentry as
think themselves aggrieved in matters of honour ; and, 2. To
keep up the distinction of degrees and quality. Whence it
follows, that the civil jurisdiction of this Court of Chivalry is
principally in two points : the redressing injuries of honour, and
correcting encroachments in matters of coat-armour, precedency,
and other distinctions of families.

As a Court of Honour, it is to give satisfaction to all such as
are aggrieved in that point ; a point of a nature so nice and
delicate, that its wrongs and injuries escape the notice of the
common law, and yet are fit to be redressed somewhere : such,
for instance, as calling a man coward, or giving him the lie ; for
which, as they are productive of no immediate damage to his
person or property, no action will lie in the courts at Westminster,
and yet they are such injuries as will prompt every man of spirit
to demand some honourable amends ; which, by the ancient laws
of the land, was appointed to be given in the Court of Chivalry.
But modern resolutions have determined, that how much soever
such a jurisdiction may be expedient, yet no action for words will
at present lie therein ; and it hath always been most clearly
holden, that as this court cannot meddle with any thing determin-
able by the common law, it therefore can give no pecuniary
satisfaction of damages, insomuch as the quantity and determina-
tion thereof is ever of common law cognizance : and therefore
this Court of Chivalry can at most order reparation in point of

132 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

honour ; as, to compel the defendant mendacium sibi ipsi imponere,
or to take the lie that he has given upon himself, or to make such
other submission as the laws of honour may require. Neither
can this court, as to the point of reparation in honour, hold plea
of any such word, or thing, wherein the party is relievable by the
courts of common law : as, if a man gives another a blow, or
calls him thief or murderer ; for in both these cases the common
law has pointed out his proper remedy by action. As to the
other points of its civil jurisdiction, the redressing encroachments
and usurpations in matters of heraldry and coat-armour, it is the
business of this court, according to Sir Matthew Hale, to adjust
the rights and armorial ensigns, bearings, crests, supporters,
pennons, &c. ; and also rights of place or precedence, where the
king's patent or act of parliament (which cannot be overruled by
this court), has not already determined it.

The proceedings of this court are by petition, in a summary
way; and the trial, not by a jury of twelve men, but by witnesses,
or by combat : but as it cannot imprison, not being a court of
record, and as, by the resolution of the superior courts, it is now
confined to so narrow and restrained a jurisdiction, it has fallen
into contempt and disuse. The marshalling of coat-armour,
which was formerly the pride and study of all the best families in
the kingdom, is now greatly disregarded ; and has fallen into the
hands of certain officers and attendants upon this court, called
heralds, who consider it only as a matter of lucre, and not of
justice : whereby such falsity and confusion have crept into their
records (which ought to be the standing evidence of families'
descents and coat-armour), that, though formerly some credit
has been paid to their testimony, now even their common seal
will not be received as evidence in any court of justice in the

MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL 133

kingdom. But their original visitation books, compiled when
progresses were solemnly and regularly made into every part of
the kingdom, to enquire into the state of families, and to register
such marriages and descents as were verified to them upon oath,
are allowed to be good evidence of pedigrees. And it is much to
be wished, that this practice of visitation at certain periods
were revived ; for the failure of inquisitions post mortem, by
the abolition of military tenures, combined with the negligence
of the heralds in omitting their usual progresses, has rendered
the proof of a modern descent for the recovery of an estate, or
succession to a title of honour, more difficult than that of an
ancient one. This will be indeed remedied for the future with
respect to claims of peerage, by a standing order of the House
of Lords, directing the heralds to take exact account, and
preserve regular entries, of all peers and peeresses of England,
and their respective descendants ; and that an exact pedigree of
each peer and his family shall, on the day of his first admission,
be delivered to the house by Garter, the principal king at arms.
But the general inconvenience, affecting more private successions,
still continues without a remedy.

MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL

MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL, for the reception of the
sick and the lame, and for lying-in married women,
is situated in Mary -bone -fields, near Oxford-road,
now called Charles - street. This is a neat, plain, and not
inelegant brick building : it has the decent appearance and all

134 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

the accommodations one would wish in a house devoted to
charity, without that ostentatious magnificence which too often
in a great measure defeats the humane and noble end of such
institutions, where those sums are squandered away in useless
decorations, that ought to be employed in administering health
to the sick, and giving feet to the lame. Nature and religion
teach us to patronize every instance of distress, but most power-
fully that deepest of all distresses, sickness in poverty. Sickness
itself will excite compassion, though alleviated by every comfort
and advantage that wealth can procure : how much stronger a
sympathy must then arise at the idea of sickness aggravated
by poverty ; or considered in another view, of poverty disabled
by sickness ! Most men are inclined, but very few, in com-
parison, have individually the power, to relieve : public con-
tributions, therefore, seem the most likely to effect what the
private bounty of individuals cannot. These considerations gave
rise, a few years since, to infirmaries, and in particular to this,
which has the merit and the honour of being the first hospital
in this kingdom for lying-in women, and of setting an example
which has been so happily followed.

The charitable designs of this Hospital were carried on for
several years in two convenient houses adjoining to each other
in Windmill-street, Tottenham-court-road, where the first institu-
tion, in August 1745, was intended only for the relief of the
indigent sick and lame; but in July 1747, the governors, willing
to render it more worthy of the notice of the public, extended
their plan to the relief of the pregnant wives of the industrious
poor : when the great increase of patients, occasioned by the
reputation of this twofold charity, soon obliged the governors

MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL 135

to think of enlarging their edifice, as well as their plan ; and
the kind benevolence of the public, by donations, legacies, &c.
enabled them, in 1755, to erect a much larger and more con-
venient building in Mary-bone-fields, in which the apartments
for the reception of the lying-in women were in a separate part
of the building, remote from the sick and lame ; and that ladies
might visit the lying-in patients without being incommoded by
the sick and lame, different staircases led to each, the lying-in
wards having no communication with the sick and lame. But
the age of delicacy and refinement has succeeded to the age
of charity and active benevolence. The fair contributors to
the funds of such charities as are particularly devoted to the
relief of lying-in women, may dismiss all apprehension of being
called upon to visit the bed of sickness and of sorrow : the tax
upon their purse is not extended to their feelings, already perhaps
rendered too delicate by the agonizing distresses of some ideal
heroine, or the complicated horrors of some mouldering abbey.
But that part of the institution which relates to the admission
of pregnant women, was altered about fifteen years ago, in
consequence of an offer made by an unknown person, through
the medium of a respectable surgeon, to advance 3OOO/. and to
settle 30O/. per annum on the Hospital, provided the governors
would appropriate a ward for the reception and cure of cancerous
diseases^ Such an offer was not to be rejected, and the obstacle
to its adoption was the unwillingness of the governors to narrow
the extent of the charity, to the exclusion of some part of those
who were already within its scope. It being however suggested,
that delivering married women at home would in most cases be
a more effectual and beneficial relief, than obliging them to pass

136 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

the period of their confinement in an hospital, excluded from
their families, it was determined to appropriate the lying-in ward
to the desired purpose, and to provide those who might want it
with proper assistance, medicine, and nurses, at their own habita-
tions ; by which means the managers of this charity were enabled
to accept the benevolent offer, and since that period the upper
part of the Hospital has been devoted solely to the cure of that
disease.

The qualification of a governor of this charity is an annual
subscription of three guineas ; which also entitles the subscriber
to recommend, and have in the house at one time, either one
sick or lame patient, or one lying-in woman, and to recommend
out-patients. A subscription of five guineas per annum entitles
the subscriber to recommend one sick or lame in-patient, out-
patients, and one lying - in woman. A subscription of thirty
guineas at one payment, constitutes the subscriber a governor
for life, with the last - mentioned privileges. Contributions of
lesser sums than three guineas per annum are thankfully re-
ceived, and entitle the contributors to recommend one sick or
lame in-patient and one out-patient at the same time.

A committee of the governors (appointed quarterly) meet at
the Hospital every Tuesday, at ten o'clock, to receive and dis-
charge patients, and to transact the other necessary business of
the house ; where every governor, though not of the committee,
has a right to be present, and his attendance is received as
a favour. A report of their proceedings is made to the general
court held every quarter, when the resolutions of this committee
are approved or rejected. The patients are attended without fee
or reward by three eminent physicians, a man-midwife, three

MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL 137

surgeons, and a clergyman. The physicians visit the patients
every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and on intermediate
days when particular cases require it. The surgeons attend
every day.

Patients are admitted on a letter of recommendation from
a governor or contributor, who may recommend in-patients, and
have out-patients on the books, according to the regulation
above-mentioned ; and when in-patients are recommended, and
there is not room in the house to receive them, they are put
on the list, to be admitted on the first vacancy, and in the mean
time prescribed for as out-patients.

No security is required for burials. All accidents are admitted
without recommendation. Tuesday being the day appointed for
the admission of patients, they are expected to be at the Hos-
pital, with their recommendation, at ten o'clock.

The physicians and surgeons meet every Saturday at twelve
o'clock at the Hospital, where they give advice gratis to all such
diseased poor who shall come, though unrecommended, and
require it.

Perhaps no country in the world can boast of so many public
institutions for the relief of the poor as Great Britain, and those
chiefly supported by voluntary contributions. Whatever vices
may belong to the present day, or whatever deficiencies the
religious observer, or the moralist, may discover, certainly the
want of charity is not among the number. It is not to the
metropolis alone these noble institutions are confined : there is
not a county without its public infirmary and dispensary, for
supplying the afflicted poor with assistance and medicine ; and
almost every town is supplied with some charitable institution,

138 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

for the same benevolent purposes. As we do not promise our-
selves another opportunity in the course of the work, we shall
in this place subjoin a list of the principal hospitals.

1. Middlesex Hospital, Charles-street, for sick and lame, and

pregnant women.

2. St. Thomas's Hospital, Southwark, for the reception of sick

and lame, especially sailors.

3. Gray's Hospital, Southwark, for sick and impotent persons,

and lunatics.

4. London Hospital, Whitechapel-road, for all persons meeting

with accidents.

5. St. George's Hospital, Hyde Park-corner, for the reception

of sick and lame.

6. Westminster General Infirmary, James-street, Westminster.

7. St. Bartholomew's Hospital, in West Smithfield.

8. Lock Hospital, Hyde Park-turnpike.

9. Hospital Misericordia, Goodman's - fields, for the same

purpose.

10. Small-Pox Hospital, St. Pancras, now employed for vaccina-

tion.

1 1. London Lying-in Hospital, Aldersgate-street, for poor married

women.

12. City of London Lying-in Hospital, Old-street, City-road.

13. British Lying-in Hospital, Brownlow-street, Long- Acre.

14. Westminster Lying-in Hospital, Surrey-road, Westminster-

bridge, for poor pregnant women generally.

15. Queen's Lying-in Hospital, Bayswater-hall, Oxford-road, for

the same objects.

1 6. Lying-in Hospital, Store-street, Tottenham-court-road.

K
P .

Cl*

EAST INDIA COMPANY 139

17. Lying-in Charity for delivering pregnant women at their own

houses.

1 8. Society for delivering married women at their own habita-

tions, by whom thirty-two midwives are employed.

19. New Lying-in Charity for the wives of the foot guards,

Great Ryder-street.

20. Bethlem Hospital, for lunatics, Moorfields.

21. St. Luke's Hospital, for lunatics, Old-street-road.

22. Samaritan Society, for relieving persons discharged from

Hospitals.

23. Society for visiting and relieving the sick at home.

24. Vaccine-Pock Institution, No. 5, Golden-square.

25. Royal Jennerian Society for the inoculation of the cow-pock,

Sal isbury - square.

26. Institution for the cure and prevention of contagious fevers

in the metropolis.

EAST INDIA COMPANY

IT would exceed our limits to enter into the history of the
ancient connections between Europe and the East Indies
prior to the establishment of the Roman power ; it may be
sufficient to observe, that during the existence of this great
empire, and indeed long after its overthrow in the West, all trade
with these countries was carried on by way of the Nile and the

HO THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

Red Sea. This trade was almost, if not entirely, annihilated by
the Saracens ; but was renewed by the Genoese and Venetians
towards the middle of the twelfth century, when, according to
Monsieur Huet, it was carried on by the way of Caffa, on the
Black Sea, and Astracan, across the Caspian Sea, and so through
Persia to and from India. This route was afterwards discontinued,
till again renewed by the Mamalukes about the year 1300, at
which time Indian wares were also brought up the Euphrates to
Bagdat, and from thence by caravans to Syria. "It was about
the same period that the Mahometan Moors first began to conquer
India, with a great power from the North, conquering all the
Gentiles as far as the kingdom of Canara," &c. "The Moors of
Barbary," says the same author, "are but few in number in India,
and though the conquerors of India now spoken of were, and
their successors still are, called Moors, yet they were chiefly
composed of Arabians, Turks, Persians, Tartars, &c. of the
Mahometan religion. They were found by the Portuguese, at
the close of the fifteenth century, to have been settled as far as
the remote Molucca Isles, before these people arrived there in the
year 1 500. The Moors in these times are said to have managed
all the commerce of India eastward to the Spice Islands, China,
&c. as well as westward towards Europe. In the latter end of
this century the Soldan of Cairo directed the Indian merchandise
to be landed on the Arabian shore, and carried overland to Mecca,
and from thence to Egypt, Libya, Africa, &c. It seems the
Mamaluke Soldans of Egypt were in those days so exceedingly
jealous with regard to this traffic, that they would not permit any
Christian to go to India either in their ships or through their
dominions. After the discovery of Africa as far south as the

EAST INDIA COMPANY 141

Cape of Good Hope, the Portuguese seem to have contented
themselves for a few years, till Emanuel, in the year 1497, sent
out Vasco de Gama with three ships and a tender, who, in five
months, got to the north-east of that famous promontory : at
Mosambique he procured a pilot to Quiloa and Mombaza, where
he found large ships from Arabia and India. The Moors were
at that time possessed of sea-charts, quadrants, and even the
compass. From thence he reached Calicut in India, which he
found to be large and populous : here were above one thousand
five hundred sail of ships, ill built and badly supplied for long
voyages, the compass not being known here : from this place a
great trade was carried on in spices and other Indian merchandise.
From thence he returned to Melinda, and so home to Lisbon,
having completed his voyage in about twenty-six months."

Thus a new and astonishing theatre for commerce was opened
to the Portuguese, which they improved for a considerable time,
till riches begot pride, effeminacy, and prodigality among the
people ; in consequence of which they were gradually stripped of
their trade and possessions in India, and a door was ultimately
opened for other nations, to profit by a discovery, the advantages
of which they had been unable to defend or retain. About the
year 1584, some members of the English Turkey Company
carried their merchandise from Aleppo to Bagdat, thence down
the Tigris to Ormus in the Persian gulph, and so on as far as
Goa, and attempted to settle a trade to the East Indies overland ;
for that purpose they carried letters from Queen Elizabeth to the
King of Cambaya and the Emperor of China. They found
the Venetians had factories at all these places. They, however,
soon after travelled to several other parts of India, also to Agra,

142 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

the Great Mogul's capital. From Tripoli in Syria, they sailed to
London, having made themselves acquainted with the nature of
East India commerce, preparatory to their intended voyage by
sea to India, for which preparations were now making. At
length, in the year 1591, the first voyage from England to India
was attempted with three ships ; but so many of the men had
been lost by sickness, that one of the ships was sent home from
the Cape of Good Hope : of the other two, the principal one was
never heard of again ; and Captain Lancaster's, which arrived in
India, met with but little success, it having been run away with
by six of the sailors, whilst the remainder of the crew, with the
captain, were on shore in an uninhabited island : at the end of
three years Captain Lancaster was brought home, several of his
men having perished from want. The avarice of the foreign
merchants trading to the East Indies, determined Elizabeth to
encourage a direct trade: accordingly, on the 3ist December,
1600, she granted a charter to George Earl of Cumberland, and
215 knights, aldermen, and merchants, by the name of "The
Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading to the
East Indies." The original shares subscribed were only fifty
pounds each. This is the very same East India Company, which,
through many vicissitudes, existed under the same denomination
till the year 1708, when it was absorbed in the United Company.
Soon after the English took possession of St. Helena, at that
time uninhabited, which they fortified, and held undisturbed till
the year 1673. The great and only benefit our ships receive
from this isle is, the fresh water and provisions they there meet
with on their return from India, in providing of which above two
hundred families are here employed and supported. In the year

EAST INDIA COMPANY 143

1712, the exclusive trade of the Company was prolonged till
Lady-day 1736: about six years prior to the determination of
this charter, considerable efforts were made to throw the trade
open, or at least to a greater extent than under the existing
monopoly. In February 1730 (N. S.), a petition and proposals
were presented to the House of Commons to that effect : as the
arguments used upon this are nearly the same as what must be
recurred to upon occasions of a similar nature, and embrace all
that can be advanced upon this important subject, we shall state
them concisely.

The proposal was to advance 3,2oo,ooo/. for redeeming the
fund of the present Company, for which they were to receive
only 2 per cent, after the last instalment was paid up.*

* The benefits to the public by this proposal they stated to be,

1. That by receiving but two per cent, interest, an annuity of ninety-two thousand
pounds would be added to the sinking fund, which, at twenty-five years purchase, was
worth two millions five hundred thousand pounds to the public.

2. That, as the laying open the trade to Africa, is acknowledged to be attended with
great national advantages ; so the thus laying open the trade to the East Indies, or the
reducing it into a kind of regulated company, will be attended with the following
advantages, viz. It will necessarily occasion a larger exportation of our own products
and manufactures to India.

3. It will employ a much greater number of ships and seamen.

4. It will greatly lower the prices of all East India commodities consumed at home.

5. It will enable us to supply foreign markets cheaper and in greater quantities with
Indian merchandise, whereby some new branches of traffic may be gained, and others
preserved, more especially in Africa and America, and also in some parts of Europe.
Here the proposers should have been more explicit.

6. It will necessarily advance the customs and excise, and thereby lessen the
national debt, &c.

7. They alledge, but give no particular reason for such their allegation, that great
advantages may accrue by employing our shipping in freights from one part of India to
another, more than the present Company has ever been able to do.

8. It will prevent persons acquainted with the trade to India, from being under the

144 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

In 1743, this Company proposed an enlargement for fourteen
years of their exclusive trade and privileges, in consideration of
which they agreed to advance one million for the public service
for the year 1744, at 3 per cent, interest. This was confirmed by

necessity (for want of employment here) of seeking it in foreign nations, and even will
bring home those who are already engaged that way. (This had a reference to certain
Englishmen engaged in the Ostend and Swedish East India Companies.) These were
the plausible and principal arguments made use of to the legislature, or within doors,
which yet were more abundantly amplified and improved without doors, in several
printed pamphlets and newspapers, which carried them, as is usually the case, much
beyond rational probability.

The out-door arguments or inducements for alluring of subscribers to this scheme,
were,

1. Certain interest from the public of four per cent, for the first two years, and two
per cent, certain afterwards.

2. The additional annual profit arising from the before-named licences.

3. The five per cent, on all goods imported would bring a considerable surplus over
and above the expence of supporting the forts and factories ; since as they alledged, the
present Company's forts and settlements do, one with another, more than answer their
own expence : and even although this proposed Company should be obliged to pay the
present Company a sum of money for their forts and settlements, (could these proposers
make any doubt of so just and equitable a point?) yet in a few years there would a
further annual profit accrue, arising from the said duties : for,

4. Even supposing the trade under this proposed Company should not increase, as
however they were confident it would, beyond the amount of three millions yearly at the
public sales, yet five per cent, thereon would yield one hundred and fifty thousand pounds
per annum, which makes eighty-six thousand pounds more than will complete the
annuity or interest of four per cent.: wherefore,

5. It may be concluded, that the annual dividend will not at any time be less than
five to six per cent, to the subscribers, since, as the exportations and importations shall
increase, in like proportion will the dividends necessarily increase.

Yet notwithstanding all the before-mentioned and similar plausible reasonings with-
out doors, and of all that their friends could urge within doors, the House of Commons
rejected their petition ; because,

FIRST, It was certainly, at least hazardous to turn the East India trade into a new
channel.

EAST INDIA COMPANY 145

an act of Parliament of the i7th George II. cap 17. The debt
due to the Company at this period was therefore 3,2oo,ooo/. at
4 per cent, being i28,ooo/. per annum, and i,ooo,ooo/. at 3 per
cent, being 3o,ooo/. per annum, and their charter to expire at
Lady-day 1783, on payment of this sum.

SECONDLY, It was uncertain whether the proposed subscriptions would readily fill in
due time.

THIRDLY, Or whether their flattering expectations would answer, either with respect
to the subscribers, or to the nation.

FOURTHLY, Whether the king's customs might not be diminished, instead of being
increased.

FIFTHLY, Whether, by the new method of a regulated trade, the nation's general
commerce to India might not in some degree be hurt and diminished ; for who can
foresee all the advantages which other European nations trading to India, would be able
to gain over us by this alteration, or the hurt our trade might receive from the Indian
princes? &c.: to quit therefore a present certainty for a future (though plausible)
uncertainty, was not judged safe nor prudent. This same opposition, however, drew
from the present Company very considerable advantages to the public :

1. By occasioning the Company to give up one per cent, of the interest payable on
their capital of three millions two hundred thousand pounds ; and,

2. To pay, moreover, for the benefit of the public, two hundred thousand pounds for
the service of the current year, over and above the said abatement of one per cent, of
their interest, viz. from five to four per cent. ; or from one hundred and sixty thousand
pounds, to one hundred and twenty-eight thousand pounds per annum, whereby thirty-
two thousand pounds per annum would be immediately added to the sinking fund ;
which the Company, nevertheless, were legally entitled to for six years longer.

Whilst the bill was depending in Parliament, abundance of anonymous letters and
essays were published in pamphlets and newspapers, against exclusive Companies in
general, and more especially against this Company's exclusive trade in particular : all
the arguments which had been advanced for above one hundred years past, against
monopolies in this and other mercantile Companies, were, on this occasion, brought
again into the light and re-published : these and other similar arguments, some of
which were at least inconclusive, if not fallacious, were freely urged both within and
without doors, and were supported by many eminent merchants.

On the other hand, it is but justice to the present East India Company, to exhibit
the principal points then so judiciously urged by way of reply in their own behalf, viz.
n. — L

146 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

In 1767, a committee was appointed by Parliament to enquire
into the state of the Company's affairs; an investigation of which,
and other collateral subjects connected therewith, produced much
animated debate, not to say violence. Among other important

1. That at present it seems to be agreed on all sides, that the East India trade is a
beneficial one to this nation, and consequently is necessary to be preserved : but the
principal question is, which is the best method to preserve it to us, viz. whether by a
Company vested with exclusive privileges and regulations, such as the legislature shall
from time to time direct, or whether the trade shall be left quite open to every adventurer
who shall pay for a licence from this Company ?

2. It is but too probable, that the present determined opposition to the Company
proceeds in a great measure from the great gains which the Company makes ; for the
enemies of this Company are forced to go back almost forty years to search out former
mismanagements, having nothing to alledge against their present conduct.

3. That the Company at present employs a vast stock in trade, their sales amount-
ing to about three millions yearly, and the customs accruing to the public are immensely
great, and answer the appropriations made of them by Parliament better than most
other duties, they bringing in net money, clear of all drawbacks and debentures, three
hundred thousand pounds yearly : would it then be prudent in the legislature to let
them, i.e. the said customs, fall, without a certainty of at least as much in the room of
them?

4. That the forts and factories do at present cost the Company three hundred
thousand pounds yearly, and doubtless the Government could not maintain them for so
little ; that these forts and other buildings are questionless the Company's property, who
actually purchased them of the old Company, and are of very great value : who, then,
shall set an equitable price on them ? What certainty have the Government, when they
are in their hands, that the proposed open trade will be always sufficient to maintain so
vast an expence of customs and forts, as six hundred thousand pounds yearly ? for as
every man is by the proposed scheme left at liberty (and will no doubt make use of it)
to trade or not to trade thither as it may suit his interest, it may happen that one year
there may go fifty ships for India, and another year perhaps not five ; and these being
all separate traders, the Government can have no certainty nor security from them, nor
indeed from any other but an incorporated body, who have a great deal to lose, and who
are able to bear the ill fortune of some particular years trading without presently laying
it aside.

5. That by the separate traders outbidding one another in India, for the sake of
dispatch, the prices of goods there would be raised so high as at length not to be worth

EAST INDIA COMPANY 147

matters brought into discussion, was the Company's right to its
territorial possessions : but though this subject was frequently
taken up, the House of Commons discovered no very great
inclination to determine a question pregnant with so many
important consequences ; for the ministry (though disposed to
assert the right), and a large body of proprietors of India stock
(equally disposed to deny it,) agreed in one opinion as to the
prudence of a reasonable composition between Government and
the Company. About this time, a scheme of proposals for an
accommodation was agreed to, by which Government granted
some advantages to the Company ; who, in return, agreed to pay
4OO,ooo/. per annum for two years, and to indemnify the revenue

the buying ; and, for the like reason, at home they would so undersell each other, till the
goods would not be worth selling, which was the case for the small time that the two
Companies (the old and the new ones) and the separate traders contended against each
other, whereby they did all very much hurt the trade.

6. That an united Company will always be more diligent to watch the encroachments
and attempts of other European nations in India, than separate traders will, or can be,
whose views are naturally contracted within the narrow circle of their own private
interest alone.

7. That although the Company have a claim to a perpetuity in this trade, by the act
of the tenth of Queen Anne, cap. 28. yet some doubts arising as to the certainty of this
right, and the Company being unwilling that their title to this trade (however strong)
should prove the occasion of disputes hereafter, are therefore content to take up with a
temporary certainty in lieu thereof; and, moreover, to give the public almost four
hundred thousand pounds in money ; and, further, consenting that their annuity
of five per cent, (which is not redeemable till the year 1736) be now reduced to four
per cent, whereby they lose an annuity of 32,ooo/. for six years to come, valued at

I92,000/.

To conclude, the legislature passed the bill in the Company's favour, entitled An act
(in the third of George the Second) for reducing the annuity or fund of the United East
India Company, and for ascertaining their right of trade to the East Indies, and the
continuance of their corporation for that purpose, upon the terms therein mentioned.

148 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

from any loss arising out of the advantages the Company acquired
by the alteration of the inland duties on tea.

An act likewise passed for regulating the dividends of the East
India Company ; and another for rescinding the act of the
Company by which they were increased, and restraining them
from raising their dividends above 10 per cent, till the next
meeting of Parliament. Against this bill* the Company pe-
titioned ineffectually.

* The principles upon which this bill was founded, were, to prevent the payment of
an higher dividend than the circumstances of the Company could afford, without
endangering their credit ; to regulate the dividend in such a manner as to put an end
to the fluctuation of that stock, which, if allowed to proceed, might not only introduce
a pernicious spirit of gaming, but would also tend to distress the other stocks ; and to
prevent any encroachment that might be made by any dividend of the Company upon
the revenue of its lately acquired territory, so that the claim of the public might suffer
no loss till that affair was finally decided : these were the principal grounds upon which
the authors and promoters of the bill rested their support of it. The leading arguments
in opposition to it, were, that by the state of the Company's affairs laid before Parlia-
ment, it was evident they were in a condition to make a much greater increase of
dividend without affecting their credit ; and that if they were allowed to be in circum-
stances to pay Government 4OO,ooo/. per annum, there could be no doubt of their being
well able to divide 8o,ooo/. among themselves : that the short period to which the
restriction of the dividend was confined would lead to encourage, instead of checking,
the infamous practices of the Alley ; and that the proposal made by the Company,
of submitting to a restriction of the dividend of 12^ per cent, during the Company's
agreement, would have obviated all the mischief, and secured every good end which
might be proposed ; but could not be attained by the bill in question, without being liable
to the objection of violence and injustice. That if a supposition, that a right to the
territorial acquisitions in the East Indies was not vested in the Company, should be
admitted as one of the grounds of this bill, a precedent would be established very
dangerous indeed to the property of the subject ; and that if a legislative interposition
was permitted to controul the dividend of a trading Company, to whom no blame was
imputable, and who had lent their money to the public upon the express stipula-
tion, that they might exercise their discretion with regard to the dividend, provided that
the undivided effects were sufficient to answer their debts, such a measure might be
attended with consequences very alarming indeed to public credit.

EAST INDIA COMPANY 149

The obtaining money from the East India Company was now
become so much a part of the system of Government, that,
previous to the expiration of the agreement, proposals were made
with a view to settle their affairs on a permanent foundation.
After a long train of negociation, an agreement was at length
concluded, and an act passed, in 1 769, confirming it ; by which
the Company continued to pay 4oo,ooo/. per annum for six years,
and were allowed, under certain restrictions, to increase their
dividend to \2\ per cent. In 1772, his majesty thought it
necessary to recommend the affairs of this Company to Parlia-
ment, in his speech from the throne. The precarious situation
of affairs in India, the late distresses of the natives, the depopu-
lation of the country, the oppression and arbitrary conduct of
the Company's servants, the great decrease of the net revenues
of Bengal, from various mismanagements, as well as enormous
and unnecessary expences, and the immense consequence to this
nation of preserving and well governing our possessions in India,
induced Parliament to adopt a regulating law, and to appoint
thirty-one members to enquire into the nature and state of the
East India Company and their affairs. This business was again
recommended from the throne in November, and in the following
year a committee of secrecy, consisting of thirteen members, was
appointed for this purpose. In little more than a week, a report
was made, which led to discussions that were carried on with
great and unusual violence. In the course of these, it appeared,
that, since the year 1765, the Company's expences had increased
from 7oo,ooo/. to the enormous sum of i,7OO,ooo/. annually. It
also appeared, that Government had received by the net duties,
the indemnity on tea, and the stipulated 4OO,ooo/. little less

THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

than two millions annually, whilst the Company had lost by the
indemnity agreement at least one million, of which 7oo,ooo/. went
to Government, and the remainder to the public. It was also
shewn, that Government had received profits during the last five
years to the amount of 3, 395, ooo/. viz. by the produce of the
annual payment 2,2OO,ooo/. and by the increase of the revenue,
compared on a medium with the five preceding years, 1,195, ooo/.;
that the whole of the Company's receipts of dividends during the
same period, scarcely amounted to 9OO,ooo/. more than 6 per
cent, on its capital. In short, it appeared that the mercantile
profits of the Company amounted, on an average, to 464,ooo/.
which would have afforded a dividend of 12^ per cent.

The Company being at this period in considerable arrears for
duty, and otherwise in a state to require parliamentary assistance,
a loan was proposed and granted them.

After the House of Commons had occupied itself for two
months with the affairs of the Company, a bill was passed, for
establishing certain regulations for the better management of the
affairs of the East India Company, as well in India as in Europe.
From the moment this bill received the royal assent, the Com-
pany may be considered as in a great measure, if not wholly,
in the hands of the ministers of the crown. In 1776, the debt
due to Government was reduced from 1,400, ooo/. to 420, ooo/.
and the Company were otherwise in a flourishing situation.

On the 2ist of March, 1780, Lord North moved that notice
might be given for the payment of 4,2oo,ooo/. to this Company ;
in consequence of which, after three years, the charter would
determine. In doing this, his lordship expressly stated the right of
the public either to the whole of the territorial acquisitions and

EAST INDIA COMPANY 151

revenues, or if the Company were allowed to hold the exclusive
trade any longer, to a participation of the profits ; and he re-
marked, that as the Company had not offered such propositions
as appeared fit for him to treat upon, it was his duty to state
the matter to the house, and to make the motion he did ; which,
after some debate, was carried.

From the debates which took place at the India-House relative
to the renewal of the charter, the following appeared to be the
situation of the Company at this period : — The stock was valued
at 3,2oo,ooo/. bonds and other debts i,8oo,ooo/. total 5,ooo,ooo/.
Their property in India was stated to exceed I3,ooo,ooo/. ; the
Government debt 4,2OO,ooo/. ; and other effects in England
would, it was supposed, make up at least 2o,ooo,ooo/. ; so that
if the charter had not been renewed, the proprietors would have
divided 4oo/. sterling for every ioo/. stock (after paying the bond
and other creditors), besides the deduction of their capital. But
the terms which the minister had proposed for the renewal of the
Company's charter, were deemed so injurious to the rights and
so prejudicial to the interests of that body, that all negocia-
tions were broken off, and the business lay dormant for nearly
two years : but, in order to accelerate the motions of the directors,
the minister submitted certain propositions to Parliament, in May
1 80 1 ; but Government and the directors could not come to any
agreement. In general, the terms held out by the former were
considered as so unjust, that it was more than once proposed,
in the court of proprietors, as the best plan the Company could
adopt, to dispose of all their property at home and abroad, and
putting an end to the political existence, to rest their title to it
on a legal decision. But the uncertain state of their situation

THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

abroad, obliged ministers to relinquish all ideas of obtaining a
large sum of money from the Company for the renewal of their
charter, and likewise to bring in a bill, allowing them, for a
limited time, to continue the exclusive trade, to manage the
territorial acquisitions in Asia, and to receive the revenue
arising therefrom : the retrospective effect of this bill obliging
the Company to pay the demand made by Government of
632,ooo/. under a claim of participation in its past profits, was
altered, and this sum was reduced to 402, ooo/. It appeared,
from a report of the committee of proprietors, appointed to
examine the situation of the Company, that there was a balance
in its favour, at the close of the last year, of i3,458,877/. in-
cluding the value of the East India-House, &c.

On the nth of November, 1803, Parliament was called
together after a short recess ; because, among other reasons that
were stated from the throne, the situation of the East India
Company was such as to claim their utmost attention. Indeed
they appeared to demand some speedy as well as effectual regula-
tions, and the administration of this period seemed determined
to provide them. So early as the i8th November, they moved
for leave to bring in a bill for vesting the affairs of the Company
in the hands of certain commissioners, for the benefit of the
proprietors and the public. This bill was accompanied by
another, the professed object of which was, to preclude all kinds
of arbitrary and despotic proceedings from the administration of
the territorial possessions, &c. These bills, embracing objects
of such importance, occasioned a prodigious national ferment,
and met with a fate so extraordinary and unexpected, that, if
our limits permitted, we should give abstracts of them here.

EAST INDIA COMPANY 153

The arguments in favour of these bills arose principally from
two sources : — The abuses which had prevailed in the govern-
ment, and the very involved state of the Company's finances.
The latter became the first object of discussion : the Company
were bound by an act of Parliament not to accept bills drawn
in India beyond the sum of 3OO,ooo/. without permission from
the Lords of the Treasury ; and an application had been made
for that purpose, as bills were at this period coming over from
Bengal for acceptance for more than 2,ooo,ooo/. If the Com-
pany did not receive assistance, ruin was the inevitable conse-
quence. On the other hand, if it was necessary to permit the
acceptance, it appeared equally necessary to examine into the
state of the Company's affairs before the public faith was
pledged for their payment, and to form some plan of regulation
to prevent the occurrence of a similar situation. Mr. Fox, who
was the ostensible framer of these bills, represented their actual
debts as amounting to u,ooo,ooo/. and their stock as worth only
3,2OO,ooo/. : this was necessarily a subject of public alarm. On
the other hand, this statement was pronounced to be absolutely
false, and the directors presented an account to the house, by
which it appeared they had a surplus of at least 4,ooo,ooo/. In
the first statement, only such parts of the stock were credited
as it was supposed the Company might readily dispose of, leaving
them in a condition to carry on their exclusive trade. In the
other account, a general balance was struck of the whole affairs
of the Company, after crediting every part of the property which
belonged to them here, and in India, and afloat. — On the subject
of abuses, the reports of the Indian Committees gave an horrid
detail ; the inferences drawn from which were, that India, instead

154 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

of a resource, would become a burthen to us ; that all confidence
on British faith and justice had been obliterated, and our govern-
ment rendered odious throughout India. To these facts and
conclusions was opposed a general charge of exaggeration : but
the plea of necessity which the framer of the bills urged, on the
principle, that the abuses were incurable without a total change
of system, was more pointedly resisted. The opposition to these
bills was principally conducted by Mr. William Pitt, whose
principal objections to them were founded upon their being an
infringement of chartered rights, and the immense and uncon-
stitutional influence the proposed measures were calculated to
create. It was contended, that India wanted a constitutional
reform, not a tyrannical alteration. That this was an attack
upon the most solemn charters, that it aimed a fatal blow at the
faith and integrity of Parliament, and loosened every tie by
which man was bound to man. That this charter did not owe
its birth to the foolish prepossession or mad prodigality of a
Plantagenet, a Tudor, or a Stuart ; it was a fair purchase from
the public, an equal compact for reciprocal advantages between
the proprietors and the nation at large. If the principles on
which these bills were founded should be recognized, what
security was there for other public companies ? or indeed what
assurance could we have for a continuance of the Great Charter
itself? It was folly to suppose the operation of them would
be confined to the East India Company ; once established, there
would never be wanting bad men to extend their effects. This
charter was conceived in the clearest terms that language could
express, and superior in strength and perspicuity to that of the
Bank of England : the right by which the king held his sceptre

EAST INDIA COMPANY 155

was not more solemnly confirmed. The bill confiscated the
property and disfranchised the members of the East India Com-
pany : the power indeed was declared to be in Parliament ; but
to whom were the commissioners accountable ? to the pro-
prietors ? no ; to a majority of Parliament, which the weakest
minister might secure with the additional patronage of 2,ooo,ooo/.
given by this bill. It was objected to on the ground of vesting
in the minister a new, enormous, and unexampled patronage ;
and Mr. Dundas went so far as to accuse Mr. Fox of endeavour-
ing to raise a fourth estate in the realm, which might ultimately
prove dangerous, if not fatal, to the constitution of Great Britain.
Petitions were presented against it by the Company, the pro-
prietors, and the lord mayor, aldermen, and common council of
London. In short, it was attacked and defended in all its stages
with great spirit, perseverance, and eloquence. It was, however,
supported through the house by a large majority of members,
and, on the 8th December, passed the Commons on a division
of 208 to 102. The next day, it was carried to the House
of Lords, where it encountered a most formidable opposition.
Lord Thurlow gave his decided opinion, that the bill was a most
atrocious violation of private property ; that it contained powers
which touched the dearest rights of Englishmen, and could only
be justified by the most irresistible necessity, which ought not
to be admitted on the reports of a committee, but was of that
importance to demand a full and fair proof by evidence at the
bar of the house. The second reading took place on the isth
of the same month, and counsel was heard on the part of the
Company. On the i7th, a motion was made, that the bill be
rejected, which was carried by a majority of 95 against 76. The

THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

fate of this bill involved in it the fate of the administration that
produced it ; and on the 1 8th December, a new one was
appointed, of which Mr. W. Pitt was made first lord of the
Treasury and chancellor of the Exchequer.

Mr. Pitt immediately set about arranging the affairs of
India: the leading points in the formation of a system for that
purpose, related to the civil and military governments, the
revenue, and the commerce. The question to whom the terri-
torial right belonged, had never been finally settled : this, as
connected with its civil and military government, was proposed
to be placed under the direction of the executive government
at home. Any effect on the constitution by the influence arising
from the revenue or patronage, was to be sedulously avoided,
and the commerce was proposed to be left free and unshackled
with any influence that might disturb its progress or diminish
its security. It was proposed to subject all concerns which
related to the civil or military government, or revenues, of the
territorial possession, to the check and controul of commissioners,
chosen from the Privy Council, and powers of a very consider-
able magnitude were proposed to be given for that purpose.
The debates upon the bill turned chiefly upon its merits or de-
merits as compared with that of Mr. Fox's. The superiority
of the opposition in the House of Commons enabled them, by
a small majority, to throw out this bill on the second reading
(i3th January); and Mr. Pitt displayed a firmness and magna-
nimity that have seldom been witnessed, in performing the duty
which he considered due to his king and his country, by con-
tinuing the minister without a majority in Parliament, till the
supplies were voted, in spite of the daily mortification he was

EAST INDIA COMPANY 157

subject to in such an unexampled situation. On the 24th March,
Parliament was prorogued, and the next day dissolved. A new
one was immediately called, which met on the i8th May, and
the providing for the good government of our possessions in the
East was peculiarly recommended from the throne. A select
committee was immediately appointed, who made a report on
the 22d June : it was ordered to be taken into consideration
on the 2d July, and on this day a bill was moved for, which had
for its object the relief of the Company by a respite of duties,
the payment of their bills, and the settling the dividend. A bill
of regulation was moved on the 6th of the same month, similar
in many respects to that which had been rejected in the last
Parliament : this bill was at once to constitute a new form of
government at home, and to regulate the different presidencies
abroad ; to provide for the happiness of the natives ; to put an
end to all misunderstanding and controversies ; and, lastly, by
a more rigid mode of legislation, to exclude delinquency, and
to institute a new judicature for the trial of offences committed
in India. On the i6th July, a very long and violent debate took
place upon this bill, when it was committed by a majority of 215.
It received considerable modifications in its passage through the
House of Commons, where it was passed on the 28th July, by
a very great majority ; and, after sustaining a violent opposition
in the House of Lords, it finally passed on the 9th of August.
By this bill (with some few alterations, which enlarged the
powers of the Board of Controul), the political affairs of the
Company have been regulated ever since that period. — In the
year 1793, the Company's charter was extended to the year 1811.
When the house resolved itself into a committee to take the state

158 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

of the East India Company into consideration, Mr. Dundas expa-
tiated at some length upon the flourishing state of its finances,
and pointed out the propriety of continuing its exclusive trade,
as well as the government of their territorial possessions. Upon
the latter point, he insisted that experience was to be preferred
to speculation ; and therefore he wished not to abandon a system
which had consolidated the power, increased the revenues,
extended the territories of our Indian empire, and had, upon the
whole, been productive of the most solid advantages to the
country. He reprobated the idea of throwing open the trade
to adventurers of all descriptions, which would annihilate the
benefits derived from Indian commerce, and prove the ruin of
our Indian empire. Mr. Fox disliked many of the provisions
of this bill, yet not wishing to negative it altogether, proposed
that the period of the renewal should be shortened, and that the
year 1 797 should be fixed for its termination, instead of 1 8 r i :
but this amendment was lost, there being for it only 26, against
it 132. This bill, as well as continuing the regulations before
mentioned, appropriated the funds of the Company at home
to specific purposes, having principally in view the liquidation
of its debts in the first instance, and afterwards an appropriation
of part of its profit in aid of the national revenue. We find
little to notice upon the subject of the East India Company till
the year 1799. The annual budget, or state of their affairs,
which Mr. Dundas regularly brought before Parliament, seemed
to warrant the general conclusion uniformly drawn by him, as to
the immense improvement in the Company's situation since their
affairs had been under his management. He now touched on
a subject of some alarm to the East India Company, but highly

EAST INDIA COMPANY 159

important to the British nation, and which, in the natural pro-
gress of events, must one day force itself on the serious attention
of the British legislature. The Company were not merely a
commercial body, but were also trustees of the imperial revenue
in India : their wealth and commerce were not only increasing,
but there was no want of funds for extending it ; but there was
no man living who must not be sensible, that all the commerce
with India, and all the wealth that might be brought home, was
beyond the power or means of the East India Company. The
imports from India amounted to no less a sum than five millions
sterling. If this were true, and the means of the Company could
bring home only two millions or less, the general interest would
require, that, in some shape or other, as much as possible of the
three millions should be brought to British ports in British
vessels. — On the i2th June, 1801, as the last account of his
Indian administration, Mr. Dundas laid before the house a dis-
tinct view of financial affairs, and general information as to the
situation of the Company, upon which he founded several resolu-
tions ; the most material of which affirmed, that, on the ist
March, 1801, the debts of the East India Company amounted to
5,393,9897. their effects to 15,404,7367. and that their sales had
increased since February 1793, from 4,988,3007. to 7,602,0417.
which resolutions passed the committee, and were adopted by the
house.

Since the year 1801, when Mr. Dundas 's statement was laid
before the House of Commons, the war in Europe has so affected
the trade in Indian articles with the Continent of Europe, and
the wars in India, from which very large acquisitions of territory
have been made, have so far absorbed the funds that, under

160 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

different circumstances, would have been employed for com-
mercial purposes, that no just conclusion can be drawn of the
future extent and importance of the Indian trade with the mother
country : but it is, nevertheless, proper to state, that, since that
period, the revenue at home has been benefited from Indian
commerce to the amount of 2,95o,ooo/. per annum ; that the
exports on account of the Company only have amounted to
i,975,ooo/. per annum, the whole of which consisted of articles
the growth, produce, or manufacture of Great Britain, except
to the amount of 87,ooo/. per annum ; that the number of tons
cleared out for India and China, amounted to 41,380 per annum ;
and that the persons now employed on the home establishment
of this important Company, exceed 3670.

a
u

ffi

KING'S BENCH PRISON

THIS Prison is situated at the north-east corner of the
road which runs through St. George's-fields to West-
minster bridge. It is a place of confinement for debtors,
and for those who are sentenced by the Court of King's Bench
for libels and other misdemeanors ; but such as are able to
purchase the liberties, may have the benefit of walking through
a part of the Borough and in St. George's-fields. The walls
of this Prison are very high, and all prospect beyond them is
excluded, even from the uppermost windows. There is a neat
chapel belonging to it, in which divine worship is regularly
performed. The rooms are nearly all alike, and measure about
9 feet square. The building, which is constructed of brick, is
very extensive ; and the marshal, who has the keeping of this
Prison, has very handsome apartments on the outside. Prisoners
from any other gaol may be removed to this by habeas corpus.

II. — M

162

THE KING'S MEWS

IS a large square, situated a little to the north of Charing-
Cross. One side of this square is a very handsome build-
ing, used as stables for his majesty's horses. This is a
place of great antiquity, and derives its name from the word
mew, which signifies to moult or cast feathers. It was used for
the accommodation of the king's falconers and hawks so early
as the year 1377 ; but the king's stables at Lomesbury (now
called Bloomsbury) being destroyed by fire in the year 1537,
King Henry VIII. caused the hawks to be removed, and the
Mews enlarged and fitted up for the reception of his majesty's
horses, and the royal stables have ever since been kept in this
place. The old building being decayed, the north side was
erected in a magnificent manner by George II. in the year 1732.
The center of this building, which is very noble, is enriched with
columns of the Doric order and a pediment. The appearance
of this building is very much injured by the mean buildings
which form the other sides of the square : if these were rebuilt,
to correspond with the north side, and an opening made to
Charing-Cross, the Royal Mews would be a great ornament to
the metropolis.

1 63

LAMBETH PALACE

THIS Palace has been for many ages the residence of
the Archbishops of Canterbury : it is a large irregular
building, composed of many parts, erected at different
periods, of which it is extremely difficult to convey any distinct
idea. The principal, and to a stranger the most interesting parts,
are the gate-house, built by Archbishop Morton, the chapel and
vestry, the Lollards' tower, the gallery, the library, and the hall ;
besides which, there are many fine rooms worthy of attention.
These buildings, with the park and gardens, formerly occupied
thirteen acres of ground. The name Lambeth is Saxon, and is
variously written, Lambhyde, or Lamhythe, Lamhyht, or Lamyte,
or Lamhithe ; which, according to Camden, signifies a dirty
station. It was probably a royal manor, as ancient historians
inform us, that Hardicanute died here in 1042, amidst the jollity
of a wedding dinner at the marriage of Toni with Gytha, two
noble Danes. By some it has been imagined that he was
poisoned, by others that he died of intemperance, and that the
Hog's-tide, or Hock- Wednesday, was kept for centuries after in
commemoration of this event, and the consequent deliverance of
this kingdom from the power of the Danes. It is here that
Harold is said to have snatched the crown, and to have placed
it on his own head, after the death of Edward the Confessor.
About this time it belonged to Goda, sister to King Edward,

164 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

who married Eustace, Earl of Bologne, who gave it to the See
of Rochester. It was seized by William the Conqueror, but
afterwards restored with the church. In 1197, Lambeth became
the property of the See of Canterbury, by a fair exchange
between Glanville, Bishop of Rochester, and Archbishop Hubert
Walter : the latter of whom had intended to erect here a college
of secular monks, a plan which originated with Baldwin ; but
Walter was likewise obliged to abandon the design, in conse-
quence of a bull obtained from the pope for that purpose. In
1216, Archbishop Boniface obtained a bull from Urban IV. to
repair or rebuild the Palace, as an expiation for his outrageous
behaviour to the prior of St. Bartholomew, in Smithfield. It
was likewise enlarged by his successors, particularly Chichely,
who was primate from 1414 to 1443, and who built the Lollards'
tower. " Neither Protestants nor Catholics," says Pennant,
"should omit visiting this tower, the cruel prison of the unhappy
followers of Wickliffe. The vast staples and rings to which
they were chained before they were brought to the stake, ought
to make Protestants bless the hour which freed them from so
bloody a period ; Catholics may glory that time has softened
their zeal into charity for all sects, and make them blush at the
memorials of the misguided zeal of our ancestors.

Cardinal Morton, who died in 1500, improved the Palace very
much, and built the magnificent gateway ; Cardinal Pole is said
to have added the long gallery ; other parts have been added by
succeeding archbishops.

During the civil wars, and the period of fanaticism which
succeeded, every building devoted to piety suffered from the
effects of political and religious bigotry. Almost all the fine

LAMBETH PALACE 165

specimens of art, and even the sacred memorials of the dead,
were abandoned to the ferocious hands of Puritanical barbarism
and sacrilegious plunder. Lambeth Palace fell to the lot of
Scot and Hardynge, who pulled down the noble hall built by
Chichely, and sold the materials. The chapel was converted
into a dancing-room, and the tomb of the venerable Archbishop
Parker was broken to pieces, his body dug up and buried in a
dunghill. Upon the restoration of Charles I. the wretch
Hardynge was obliged to discover where the body was ; where-
upon the archbishop had him re- interred in the same chapel,
near the steps of the altar. The Palace was at one period a
prison for the Royalists. Archbishop Juxton finding it almost
reduced to ruins, rebuilt a considerable part of it, particularly
the great hall, which is erected upon the ancient model : it is
a fine noble fabric, yet standing. Archbishop Bancroft, who died
in 1600, began the library, and left his books to his successors
for ever ; the worthy prelate Seeker left all such books from his
own library as were not already in the former ; Archbishop
Cornwallis bestowed a great number in his lifetime ; and the
present archbishop has expended a considerable sum in fitting
up a proper repository for the valuable manuscripts : many
additions have likewise been made by him, particularly to the
great gallery, which is near 90 feet long by 15 feet 9 inches
broad ; to this has been added a bow window, and an opening-
has been made towards the river, by cutting down some trees,
which admits a beautiful view of the water, the bridge, of the
venerable abbey, and part of St. Paul's. The chapel consists
of a body only, measuring 72 feet in length, 25 in breadth, and
is 30 feet high ; it is divided into an inner and outer chapel by

1 66 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

a handsome carved screen : it has a flat panelled ceiling, painted
in compartments, done by order of Archbishop Laud : the
pavement is composed of squares of black and white marble,
laid chequer-wise. The Lollards' tower is ascended by a spiral
stone staircase, at the top of which is a room about 1 2 feet long
and 9 broad. If tradition had not identified this room as the
prison of the ancient religious sect from which it derives its
name, it bears sufficient evidence of its former horrid destination.
There are eight large rings fastened to the wainscot that lines the
walls : it has two small windows, one on the west, and another on
the north side ; there is likewise a chimney on the north side,
upon which are various scratches, half sentences, initials, &c.
cut with rude instruments by the prisoners who have been
supposed to have inhabited this apartment ; they are in the old
English character, and not easily decyphered. The exterior of
this tower has a venerable appearance, and is the only part
remaining built entirely of stone : it is five stories high ; the
lower stories are now used as cellars. The building is finely
shaded with the venerable trees of what is called the Bishop's-
walk.

The building of the gallery is ascribed to Cardinal Pole. It
is entitled to particular attention, from the valuable collection of
portraits of primates and other dignitaries with which it is
ornamented : among them is a portrait of the founder, which is
supposed by Ducarel to be genuine.

Among the portraits are those of Archbishops Arundel and
Chichely. The fine portrait of War/tarn, painted by Holbein :
this picture is well known from Vertue's large print. Archbishop
Parker, supposed to be painted by Richard Lyne. There

LAMBETH PALACE 167

is a second portrait of the same prelate, said to be by Holbein,
presented to Archbishop Potter, by J. West, Esq. President
of the Royal Society.

Martin Luther, a small head, but whether original or not
is uncertain.

Cranmer, Whitgift, and an imaginary head of St. Dunstan,
Grindal, Sheldon, &c. &c. have nothing remarkable.

A singular portrait of Catherine Parr has found a place here,
according to Pennant, not without reason.

There is a fine picture of Archbishop Abbot, of date 1610;
and another by Vandyke, of Laud. This last is an admirable
portrait. — The other portraits in this gallery are chiefly those of
eminent modern bishops, and are too numerous to particularize
within our limits. The windows are enriched with stained glass :
some of them are beautiful ; others appear to be of a great age,
and to have been very carefully preserved. The library occupies
the four galleries over the cloisters, forming a small quadrangle.
It is said by Aubrey to have been founded by Sheldon, but there
is evidence of its having existed at a much earlier period. It
was more probably founded by Boniface.

In 1646, the library was seized by the Parliament, about two
years after Laud was executed. It was saved from destruction
by an ingenious device of Mr. Selden, who suggested to the
University of Cambridge their right to the books : Juxton, and
afterwards Sheldon, applied for them to be returned, which was
accordingly done after the Restoration.

The whole number deposited in this library exceeds 25,00x3
volumes, and were valued at 2,5OO/. — -J. L. Neva's LIVES, &c.

The library contains many paintings and curiosities, and some

i68 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

neat views of this Palace ; an original impression of the large
scarce plan of London, by Ralph Aggas ; a set of prints of all
the Archbishops of Canterbury from 1 504 ; and a series of the
most eminent reformers of the Protestant church. The windows
likewise contain some beautiful stained glass.

Near the chimney is a singular curiosity ; the shell of a land
tortoise, which lived to the great age of 120 years, and might
possibly have lived till this time if it had not been killed by the
negligence of the gardener. The hall is a noble building, and
measures 93 feet in length, in breadth 38, and in height upwards
of 50 : the architecture was intended to be Gothic, but is really
of a very mixed kind. It stands on the site of the old hall, and
was built by Archbishop Juxton ; who could not be persuaded to
build it in a more modern style, though it would have cost less
money. The roof is slated, and ornamented with a noble lantern,
which rises in the center ; at the top are the arms of the See of
Canterbury, quartered with those of Juxton, and surmounted
with the archiepiscopal mitre : the roof is a work of much labour
and ingenuity, and is constructed entirely of oak. At the upper
end of the hall is the archbishop's seat : the whole is wainscotted
to a great height, and the floor handsomely paved. Two of
the great oak tables are dated 1664. "The reason," says the
historian of the Palace, " why such large halls were built in the
seats and houses of our ancient nobility and gentry, was, that
there might be room to exercise the generous hospitality which
prevailed among our ancestors ; and which was, without question,
duly exercised by most of the great possessors of this mansion,
though not particularly recorded, but most eminently by Win-
chelsey, Cranmer, and Parker."

LAMBETH PALACE 169

Cardinal Pole had a patent from Philip and Mary to retain
100 servants.

Parker had a similar grant for forty.*

* But he had a great many more, as appears from the chequer-roll of his
household :

"All these had allowance for their diett in the hall at Lamhith, as first was the
steward's table, on the one side for himself, his two fellow-officers, gentlemen of the
horse, secretaries, gentleman usher, that waited not at the archbishop's table with other
gentlemen waiters ; and if al cold not sit theare, thei were placed at the gentlemen's
table : next to that table, over against the steward's table, on the other side of the hall,
had the almoner his table, with the chapleins and the stewdents, and either of thes
tables had like allowance of diett, manchet, and wine. The gentlemen's long table, at
first sitting, was for some gentlemen of household and manors, and for the archbishop's
waiters, when he had dined ; on the other side, against them, sat the yeoman waiters,
and yeoman officers that attended not, and meaner sort of strangers. At the table next
the hall dore, sat the cooks and attendant yeomen officers ; over against them, sat the
gromes (before mentioned) of the stable and other extern places ; then at the nether end
of the hall, by the pantry, was a table whereat was dailie entertained eyht or ten of the
poor of the town by turns."

Strype gives us this further account of Archbishop Parker's hospitality :

" In the daily eating, this was the custom : the steward, with the servants that were
gentlemen of better rank, sat down at the tables in the hall on the right hand, and the
almoner, with the clergy and the other servants, sat on the other side, where there was
plenty of all sorts of provision, both for eating and drinking ; the daily fragments
thereof did suffice to fill the bellies of a great number of poor haungry people that
waited at the gate : and so constant and unfailing was the provision at my lord's table,
that whoever came in either at dinner or supper, being not above the degree of a knight,
might here be entertained worthy of his quality, either at the steward's or almoner's
table ; and, moreover, it was the archbishop's command to his servants, that all strangers
should be received and treated with all manner of civility and respect, and that places
at the table should be assigned to them according to their dignity and quality, which
redounded much to the praise and commendation of the archbishop. The discourse
and conversation at meals was devoid of all brawls and loud talking, and, for the most
part, consisted in framing men's manners to religion, or in some other honest and
beseeming subject. There was a monitor of the hall, and if it happened that any spoke
too loud, or concerning things less decent, it was presently hushed by one that cried
silence. The archbishop loved hospitality, and no man shewed it so much, or with
better order, though he himself was very abstemious."

Indeed, before Parker's time, the charity of the archbishops was truly astonishing.
Robert Winchelsey, during his primacy, we are informed by Godwin, not only maintained

1 70 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

Besides what we have mentioned, there are many other noble
apartments in this extensive residence, which contain nothing
very interesting.

The great gate was built about the year 1490, by Cardinal
Morton, in the manner we now see it. It is perhaps the most
magnificent building of the kind existing, for its size and height.
On one side of the porter's lodge is a small room, with three
great iron rings fastened to the wall ; from which circumstance,
it has been suggested that this room was a supplemental prison
to the Lollards' tower. At this gate the dole annually given by
the archbishops of the See of Canterbury is distributed.

The dole now given at Lambeth-gate consists of fifteen
quartern loaves, nine stone of beef, and five shillings worth of
halfpence : they are divided into three equal proportions, and
distributed, every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, among thirty
poor parishioners of Lambeth. The beef is made into broth,
and thickened with oatmeal, divided into ten equal shares, and is
distributed with half of one of the loaves, a pitcher of the broth,
and two-pence, to as many poor persons, who are thus weekly

many poor scholars at the universities, but was exceedingly bountiful to other persons in
distress ; " insomuch," says he, " as therein I think he excelled all the archbishops that
either were before or after him. Besides the daily fragments of his house, he gave every
Friday and Sunday unto every beggar that came to his doore, a loafe of breade of a
farthing price (sufficient for a day, according to Stowe) ; and there were usually on such
alms-days, in time of dearth, to the number of 5000, but in a plentiful 4000, and seldom or
never under, which, commitnibus annis, amounted unto 500 a yere : over and above this,
he used to give, on every great festival-day, 150 pence to so many poore people, and
sende daily meate, drink, and breade, unto such as, by reason of age or sickness, were
not able to fetch alms at his gate, and to sende money, meate, and apparel, &c. to such
as he thought wanted the same and were ashamed to beg ; but of all other he was wont
to take the greatest compassion upon those that by any misfortune were decaied, and
had fallen from wealth to poor estate."

LAMBETH PALACE 171

relieved by rotation. Besides this relief, his grace distributes very
considerable sums annually to poor housekeepers. A correspon-
dent in the Gentlemaris Magazine mentions a custom annually
observed at Lambeth Palace-gate, and is described as follows :

" On the annual aquatic procession of the Lord Mayor of
London to Westminster, the barge of the company of stationers,
which is usually the first in the shew, proceeds to Lambeth
Palace, where, for time immemorial, they have received a
present of sixteen bottles of the archbishop's prime wine. This
custom, I am informed, originated at the beginning of the present
century. When Archbishop Tenison enjoyed the see, a very
near relation of his, who happened to be master of the stationers'
company, thought it a compliment to call there in full state, and
in his barge : when the archbishop being informed that the
number of the company within the barge was thirty-two, he
thought that a pint of wine for each would not be disagreeable ;
and ordered, at the same time, that a sufficient quantity of new
bread and old cheese, with plenty of strong ale, should be given
to the watermen and the attendants : and from that accidental
circumstance it has grown into a settled custom. The company,
in return, present to the archbishop a copy of the several
almanacks which they have the peculiar privilege of publishing."

The park and the gardens owe much of their elegance to the
taste of the late archbishop, by whom they were enlarged and
laid out: they now occupy at least eighteen acres. These gardens
contain two uncommon fig-trees, the planting of which tradition
ascribes to Cardinal Pole ; they cover a surface of wall extending
50 feet in height and 40 in breadth. The kitchen garden is
entirely walled in, and contains between three and four acres.

172 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

In the riots of 1780, the Palace of Lambeth narrowly escaped
destruction. A party of the mob, consisting of about 500, came
to the Palace with great military parade, crying " No Popery,"
and threatened to return in the evening, the gates being shut.
In the mean time, a party of about 100 of the guards arrived :
the mob continued to parade and threaten for some days. In this
alarming situation, the Archbishop Cornwallis and his family were
persuaded to retire from the Palace, which they did on the 7th
June, not leaving a single soldier within the walls. About seven
in the evening, a party of the North Hants arrived ; and from
this period till August nth, from 200 to 300 soldiers were
quartered in the Palace : the officers were lodged in the best
apartments, and entertained with great hospitality by the two
chaplains, at the expence of the archbishop. As to the soldiers,
they attended chapel regularly, morning and evening ; and, with
their wives and children, had their meals in the hall : such of
them as were upon duty had their meals afterwards. They were
accommodated for sleeping in the stables, coach-houses, &c.; and
during their stay at Lambeth, from the 6th June to August 11,
not the least complaint could be made of irregular behaviour in
any one individual, through the great attention of the different
officers who commanded them.

In the summer of the year 1783, a most daring robbery was
committed here. His grace had directed several alterations to
be made : a great number of workmen were employed ; and for
greater security, a door leading to the plate-closet was bricked up.

The person who acted as chief agent in the robbery was a
labourer. This man conducted himself so artfully, that the
steward, observing him sitting on the stairs at meal-times, and

LAMBETH PALACE 173

admiring what he thought his sobriety, ordered him a pint of ale
every day ; but the fact appears to be, that he chose these oppor-
tunities for making his observations.

The robbery was discovered the morning after it was com-
mitted : the fresh brick-work having been removed from the
door-way, and an old cutlass, with which it had been done, lay
on the ground. On searching the chest, plate worth 3ooo/. was
missed. Great exertions were made to find out the culprits, but
to no purpose : at length they were discovered in a very extra-
ordinary manner. Some months had now elapsed, when it
happened that two lightermen, who had been kept up by the
tide running late, thought they heard an unusual noise in a
timber-yard adjoining them ; and climbing up the wall, observed
two men, as they thought, hammering pewter pots. Arming
themselves with pistols, they scaled the walls, upon which the
whole party disappeared immediately : they were, however,
fortunate enough to catch one man at the entrance of a drain ;
who, being threatened, acknowledged the robbery. A consider-
able part of the plate was found in the drain, part of it was
traced to a melting-house in Thames-street, and upwards of 3<x>/.
worth had been sold to refiners in London. The man thus taken
was the only one who suffered for this robbery : his companions
effected their escape to Holland ; and though they were after-
wards seen in London, and might have been secured, the
archbishop, having delivered up one criminal as an example to
public justice, humanely forbore to prosecute.

The loss sustained by this robbery, independent of the plate
recovered, was estimated at iooo/.

LLOYD'S

THIS place has acquired a celebrity in the commercial
world, which entitles it to notice in a work of this nature.
Its name is supposed to have been derived originally
from a coffee-house in Lombard-street, kept by a person named
Lloyd, much frequented, about the middle of the last century, by
merchants, bankers, &c. It is in the nature of success to create
rivalship : accordingly, about fifty years since, a house was opened
in Pope's Head-alley (in opposition to the former house), which
assumed the name of New Lloyd's: this occasioned a great falling
off in the business of the old house, which eventually declined
altogether.

The trade of the country increasing very fast about the year
1771 or 2, Neva Lloyd's was found to be insufficient for the
accommodation of the merchants, ship-owners, &c. who made it
a place of meeting for business ; in consequence of which about
one hundred merchants entered into a subscription, for the
purpose of erecting another house upon a more enlarged and
liberal scale. At this period, the buildings now called Lloyd's
being offered to them, they were taken, as their contiguity to the
Royal Exchange, and the extensive accommodations which they
afforded, made the situation extremely desirable : the subscribers
were therefore only called upon for i5/. upon their subscriptions;

LLOYD'S 175

which sum is at present paid by every gentleman who is admitted.
This payment is placed in a fund to answer any demands for the
interest of the house, and by means of it the rooms are supported.
This society has for some years shewn the example of many
liberal subscriptions for the relief of sufferers in our naval
victories ; and towards the Patriotic Fund the subscribers voted
2O,ooo/. besides their individual subscriptions, many of which
amounted to iooo/. and we believe there were none under ioo/.

The subscription-room, which is represented in the plate, is
74 feet 8 inches long, 19 feet 5 inches wide, and 18 feet 8 inches
high: it was opened in the year 1786. The adjoining room is
85 feet 2 inches long, 21 feet wide, and 19 feet i inch high, and
was opened in the year 1791. A third room, adjoining, is 61 feet
9 inches long, 20 feet wide, and 18 feet 7 inches high, and was
opened in 1802. These rooms are for the use of merchants,
underwriters, brokers, &c.

There are besides two coffee-rooms, one of which is 55 feet

2 inches long, 15 feet 6 inches wide, and 17 feet 6 inches high •
the other is 48 feet 8 inches long, 20 feet wide, and 20 feet

3 inches high: these were opened in the year 1774, at which
time the latter was appropriated for the use of subscribers only.
In the former, ships are now sold by auction, and notices of
vessels bound to the Leeward Islands are put up : they are both
principally frequented by persons more immediately connected
with concerns of this nature. There are two other rooms for
committees on the affairs of the house, which are fitted up with
maps, &c.

176

LEADENHALL MARKET

E \DENH ALL is a large and extensive building, of
considerable antiquity ; it is situated upon the south side,
and near the west end, of Leadenhall-street : it was
originally a manor-house of Sir Hugh Neville, and was purchased
by the great Whittington in the year 1408, and by him presented
to the city. In the year 1419, Sir Thomas (or Simon) Eyre,
erected a public granary, with a view to supply the wants of the
poor in seasons of scarcity. This granary was built with stone,
in nearly its present form : it has flat battlements at the top,
which are covered with lead. In the year 1511, a great scarcity
was apprehended, but the munificent precaution of Roger
Archiley had filled this granary, which contributed in a great
measure to alleviate the distresses that succeeded. A chapel

was built by Sir Eyre, in the square, and 3000 marks left

to the drapers' company for its endowment, but the institution
was never executed. In 1406, a religious house was founded by
William Rouse and two others, for the support of sixty priests,
whose duty it was to perform divine service daily to those who
frequented the market.

This house has been applied to many other purposes : at one
period it was the city arsenal ; and from its strength, was
considered as the principal fortress of the city in case of popular
tumult. Stowe says, "that, in his youth, the common beam for
weighing wool and other wares, was in a part of the north

LEADENHALL MARKET 177

quadrant, on the east side of the north gate ; on the west side of
the gate were scales to weigh meal ; the other three sides were
reserved, for the most part, to the making and resting of the
pageants shewed at the Midsummer, in the watch ; the remnant
of the sides and quadrants were employed for the stowage of
woolpacks, but not closed up : the lofts above were partly used
by painters in working for the decking of pageants and other
devices ; and the residue was let to merchants, wool-winders, and
packers." It is at present the largest, and perhaps the best
supplied market in Europe: it consists of three squares, or courts;
the first of which opens into Leadenhall-street, and is called the
Beef-market : on Tuesdays this court is a market for leather ; on
Thursdays, for Colchester baize and for wool ; on Fridays it is a
market for hides ; and on Saturdays, for beef. The second court
was formerly a green plot of ground, and is still called the Green-
yard : it became a store-yard for the building materials belonging
to the city, and is now a market for veal, mutton, lamb, &c. : in
the middle, and on the south and west sides, are houses and shops
for fishmongers.

At the east end is a market-house, erected upon columns, with
vaults beneath, and rooms above ; under the latter are the
butchers' stalls : there are likewise a bell-tower and a clock.

In the passages leading to the several streets in the vicinity of
this market, are fishmongers, poulterers, and cheesemongers'
shops. The herb-market is held in another square or court,
formed by these buildings. This market was rebuilt in the year
1730, and is called the New-market : in the same year there were
shops built in the part called the Old Bacon-market, which are
chiefly occupied by poulterers and dealers in bacon.

II — N

1 78 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

By an act 24th Henry VIII. c. 3. beef, pork, mutton, and veal
were first directed to be sold by weight ; no person to take above
one halfpenny for a pound of beef or pork, nor above three
farthings for mutton or veal. On this occasion, James Howell,
in his Londinopolis, remarks that the number of butchers in
London and its suburbs did not then exceed eighty, each of
whom killed nine oxen weekly. This law was afterwards
repealed, and the regulation of prices referred to a committee of
the privy council.

Until about the year 1533, the magistrates of the city had
permitted any butchers to bring their meat twice in the week to
Leadenhall-street, and there to expose it for sale on stalls erected
before the houses, the occupiers of which derived considerable
advantage from the same ; but it being considered, that the
revenue of the city might be increased very materially by obliging
all the butchers to repair to the new stalls erected in Leadenhall,
it was, in the year 1533, ordered by the court of aldermen, that
they should sell their meat in Leadenhall Market, and no where
else. About ninety years preceding this period, the Chronicon
Preciosum gives us the prices of the following provisions, viz.
wheat 45. ^d. a fat ox i/. us. id. a hog 3$. a goose $d. pigeons
4</. per doz.; but money was then twice the weight of our modern
coin. At this rate an equal quantity of our money would
probably, on a medium, go about five times as far then as in
our days ; so that the prices were what would be equal to the
following ones with us, viz. wheat 2/. 35. ^d. per quarter, a fat ox
i5/. 1 6.y. 8d. a hog i/. los. a goose 2s. 6d. a dozen of pigeons
3-y. \d. It was this same year enacted by Parliament, that when
wheat was so cheap as 6s. Sal. per quarter, rye 45. and barley 35.
they might be exported without a licence.

LEADENHALL MARKET

179

We are indebted to the same author for the price of the
following articles about the same period : — Ale per gallon \\d.
hay per load 3^. 6|/£ a young swan 3^. 100 stock fish for 17^. 6d.
3000 red herrings for i/. i is. bullocks and heifers (these were
probably but calves) at 5^. each ; fine linen for surplices and the
altar, at i8d. per yard.

The butchers' company is of very great antiquity, having been
fined so early as the 26th of Henry II. for setting up a guild
without the royal licence. Its present charter was granted in
the 3d James I. who incorporated them on the i6th September,
1605, by the name of The Master, Wardens, and Commonalty of
the Art or Mystery of Butchers of the City of London. It is
a livery company, and the twenty-fourth in the city list. It is
governed by a master, five wardens, and twenty-one assistants.
The fine on admission is ten guineas. The present clerk or
solicitor to this company, is Thomas Street, Esq. Philpot-lane.
The number of oxen slaughtered in London is about 2884
weekly, on an average — of sheep 17,303 — of calves 763.

We may form some opinion of the great number of cattle that
are slaughtered for the supply of this great metropolis and a
circuit of fifteen miles, from the following returns made by the
inspectors under the Flaying Act, being the number of hides and
skins inspected by them during one year, from the ist January,
1807, to the Ist January, 1808 :

1807.

Cattle.

Calves.

Sheep.

1807.

Cattle.

Calves.

Sheep.

January .

• 17.039

3211

73.153

July . .

9,673

5675

85,845

February

. 12,411

2329

58,060

August

9,180

4548

105,701

March .

• 12,447

2309

58.505

September .

II.432

34°9

79,553

April

. 12,678

3021

69,061

October .

16,907

3529

83,695

May

. 9,848

2761

80,064

November .

15.430

2936

66,088

June

. 8,912

3632

77,625

December .

14,202

2352

62,437

1 8o THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

So early as the time of Henry VII. the wardens of the leather-
sellers' company were empowered to inspect sheep, lamb, and calf
leather throughout the kingdom. We shall perhaps the less
wonder at this, when we consider the article of leather was the
second staple of the kingdom at that period : indeed we cannot
attribute to it a degree of consequence very much inferior at the
present moment, if we are correct in our statement, that the
hides and skins brought to Leadenhall Market are estimated to
produce 3OO,ooo/. per annum ; that in the hands of the currier
they acquire an advance in value of at least 1 50 per cent, which
would make the article in this state worth 75O,ooo/. and adding
the ratio of 150 per cent, for its subsequent value, after having
gone through the different stages of manufacture, its ulterior
amount will approach to nearly two millions : but when it is
recollected, that many of the articles made of sheep-skin, which
is perhaps worth only one shilling in its raw state, acquires an
additional value of seven or eight, this calculation will perhaps
be thought too low ; it will at least evince the importance of this
great article of home consumption as well as exportation, and
may perhaps excite a degree of curiosity to be better acquainted
with a subject, which our limits prevent us from detailing more
at large.

e "
a

EGYPTIAN HALL, MANSION-
HOUSE

OF the many noble rooms which compose the interior of
the Mansion -House, the Egyptian Hall, which is the
length of the front, is the most deserving of notice and
attention. When lighted up for civic entertainments, and crowded
with visitors of the first consequence from both ends of the town,
the display is grand, the effect impressive, and the tout-ensemble
is calculated to excite in a stranger no inconsiderable degree of
admiration and respect for an office attended with so much con-
sideration. We are not unacquainted with the still higher dignity
which an upright and conscientious discharge of its duties, confers
upon the individual who is called upon to fill the chair ; nor are
we ignorant of the contempt and disgrace which in modern times
have attached to the weak and imbecile character, who, in a
moment of danger and difficulty, suffered the sceptre of the city
to tremble in his hands.

The Mansion- House is erected upon the site of ground where
the Stocks-market formerly stood, in the middle of which Sir
Robert Vyner, who was lord mayor in 1675, in a fit of loyalty
erected a statue, which he called Charles II. The fact is, that
anxious to lose no time in displaying his attachment to that
monarch, and having discovered at a foundery a statue of
Sobieski, King of Poland, trampling upon a Turk, he was not
deterred by any incongruity in the costume, but immediately

1 82 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

set about converting the Turk into an Oliver Cromwell, and
transformed the noble John Sobieski into the effeminate
Charles II. trampling upon the usurper of his father's crown.
Prior to the erection of this noble building, it was customary for
the chief magistrate to hold his mayoralty at one of the halls
belonging to the twelve principal companies ; and the incon-
venience continued long after it became obvious : it was, how-
ever, at length determined, for the honour of the city, and the
more punctual and convenient discharge of the duties of the
office, to build a house as the mansion of the lord mayor for the
time being. This situation was considered as the most eligible,
on account of its vicinity to the Royal Exchange, and from its
being nearly in the center of the city.

Among a variety of plans, the present was selected ; but it has
the same misfortune which attends the principal buildings of this
metropolis. It is so crowded on all sides with houses, that
its beauties are lost ; nor will the Mansion- House be seen to
great advantage, till the heavy superstructure is removed, and
a grand opening in the front made quite into Lothbury, so that
it may form the end of a noble street ; but this improvement
is rather to be wished than expected. The ground on which
the Mansion- House is erected abounding very much with springs,
made it necessary to pile the foundations, and the damp has
occasioned the dry rot, which at one period was a subject of
considerable alarm. It is very substantially built of Portland
stone, and has a portico of six lofty fluted columns of the
Corinthian order in front, the same order being continued in
pilasters both under the pediment and on each side. A hand-
some flight of steps, of considerable extent, leads up to the

HOUSE OF LORDS 183

portico ; the balustrade of the stairs is continued along the front,
and the columns support a large angular pediment, ornamented
with a noble piece of sculpture in bass-relief, representing the
dignity and opulence of the city of London. The whole expence
of this building, including a sum of 39OO/. paid for the purchase
of houses to be pulled down, amounted to 42,6$SS. i8s. Sal.

HOUSE OF LOKDS

A the close of our short epitome of the legal history of this
country, which we took occasion to introduce under the
article "House of Commons" we promised to resume the
subject when the present article presented itself in the order of
publication. We had indeed omitted to enumerate the many
beneficial laws which passed in the reign of Charles II. and the
great strides which our constitution at that period made towards
perfection. It was in this reign the doctrine and consequences
of military tenures were abolished, and all their oppressive
appendages removed from incumbering the estates of the subject ;
at the same time, the prerogatives of purveyance and pre-
emption, and the writ de hceretico comburendo, were abolished.
In this reign, too, were passed, the statute for holding annual
Parliaments, the test and corporation acts, the statute of frauds
and perjuries, the statute for distribution of intestates' estates,
that of amendments and jeofails, and many wise and important
acts for the improvement and protection of navigation and
commerce. At this period the people seem not only to have

i84 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

enjoyed a considerable portion of real liberty, but to have
possessed the means of protecting that liberty against the en-
croachments of prerogative. These circumstances enabled them,
in the succeeding reign, to resist (as we have already shewn) the
designs of James II. and to place the Prince of Orange upon the
throne of these kingdoms. From this time the constitution has
rather been rendered firm and stable by the confirmation of its
principles, than amended by alterations. The bill of rights, the
act of toleration, the act of settlement, and the conditions which
were annexed to it, the union of England and Scotland ; those
acts by which the dispensing power of the crown is pronounced
illegal, by which the septennial election of members of Parliament
is established, by which certain officers are excluded the House
of Commons or voting for members, which restrain the king's
pardon from obstructing impeachments, which have imparted to
all the lords an equal right to try their fellow peers, which
regulate trials for high treason, which set some bounds to the
civil list, by placing the administration of this revenue in the
hands of persons accountable to Parliament ; which have made
the judges completely independent of the king, his ministers, and
his successors; the union with Ireland: all these are proofs that
the constitution of this country has nearly attained the height
of human perfection, and that the utmost stretch of political
speculation cannot justify a craving for more substantial benefits
in a state of society.

But if to this catalogue we add the improvements which
have taken place in the administration of the laws, and in the
ameliorated state of public and private life, we shall be rather
inclined to pity those who lose the opportunity of enjoying the

HOUSE OF LORDS 185

practical benefits of such a condition, in vain and fruitless
endeavours after theoretical perfection. It is since the period
of the revolution in 1688, that the solemn recognition of the law
of nations with respect to the rights of ambassadors, has been
made, and a number of excrescences, that in process of time had
sprung out of the practical part of the law, have been cut off:
to which may be added, the protection of corporate rights by
the improvement of writs of mandamus, and informations in
nature of quo warranto ; the regulations of trial by jury, and
the act by which they are enabled to determine upon both law
and fact ; the admitting witnesses for prisoners upon oath ; the
farther restraints upon alienations of lands in mortmain ; the
extension of the benefit of clergy, by abolishing the pedantic
criterion of reading ; the new and effectual methods for the
speedy recovery of rents ; the improvements which have been
made in ejectments for the trying of titles ; the introduction and
establishment of paper credit, by indorsements upon bills and
notes, which have shewn the possibility, so long doubted, of
assigning a chose in action ; the translation of all legal pro-
ceedings into the English language ; the erection of courts of
conscience for recovering small debts, and the reformation of
county courts ; the great system of marine jurisprudence, of
which the foundations have been laid, by clearly developing the
principles on which policies of insurance are founded, and by
happily applying those principles to particular cases; the ameliora-
tion and improvement of the laws relating to bankrupts, and
which extend the sum for which a debtor may be arrested and
held to bail ; and, lastly, the liberality of sentiment which has
taken possession of our courts of common law, and induced

1 86 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

them to adopt (where facts can be clearly ascertained) the same
principles of redress as prevail in our courts of equity, and by
extending the remedial influence of the equitable writ of trespass
on the case, according to its primitive institution by King
Edward I. to almost every instance of injustice not remedied
by any other process. This catalogue of improvements may-
be closed with the noblest palladium of our liberties, and the
best assurance for their continuance, the freedom of the press,
which is enjoyed and protected in this country as far as is
consistent with the peace and wellbeing of society, and to an
extent unknown in any other.

The House of Lords forms a constituent part of the constitu-
tion. It consists, first, of all the peers of the realm, by whatever
title of nobility they may be distinguished, and from whatever
source their dignity is derived, whether by descent, creation, or
election (as since the unions with Scotland and Ireland) : the
number of these is indefinite. To them are joined the spiritual
lords, consisting of two archbishops and twenty-four bishops ;
and at the dissolution of monasteries by Henry VIII. consisted
likewise of twenty-six mitred abbots and two priors, a very
considerable body, and in those times equal in number to the
temporal nobility. But although, in the eye of the law, the
lords spiritual are distinct from the lords temporal, and are so
distinguished in most of our acts of Parliament, yet in practice
they are usually blended together under the name of the Lords ;
they intermix in their votes, and the majority of lords so inter-
mixed effectually determines every question proposed. It is
among the privileges of the House of Lords, to be attended by
the judges of the Court of King's Bench and Common Pleas,

HOUSE OF LORDS 187

and such of the barons of the Exchequer as are of the degree
of the coif, or have been made Serjeants at law ; as likewise by
the king's learned counsel, being serjeants, and by the masters
of the Court of Chancery, for their advice in point of law, and
for the greater dignity of their proceedings. The secretaries
of state, with the attorney and solicitor general, were also used
to attend the House of Peers, and have to this day their regular
summons issued out at the beginning of every sessions, ad
tractandiim et consilium impendendum, though not ad con-
sentiendum ; but whenever of late years they have been
members of the House of Commons, their attendance here
hath fallen into disuse.

A distinction of rank and honours belongs to every well-
governed state, and is more particularly necessary in a limited
and free monarchy. It is the cheap remuneration of merit, and
the appropriate reward of eminent services performed by great
men ; it is the noble mind's distinguishing allurement. In our
mixed government, a class of nobility is an essential ingredient.
It forms a barrier between the encroachments of prerogative and
the vacillations of democracy. The nobility are the pillars reared
from among the people, to support the dignity of the monarch,
and to preserve that scale which rises in gradual progression
from the cottage to the throne. It is this beautiful and contrast-
ing proportion which gives stability to our constitution, and has
made it the object of envy and admiration to surrounding nations.
We cannot close this short epitome without saying a few words
upon the sovereign power, although it does not immediately
belong to this particular article, but as no other opportunity may
offer in the subsequent divisions of this work, we shall embrace
the present.

1 88 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

If any thing can add to our respect for an office so important
and essential to the existence of our constitution, it would be
derived from the example of private virtue and public firmness
which have been exhibited, during the course of a long and
portentous period, by our beloved monarch. But happy as we
may feel ourselves in such an example at this arduous moment,
our constitution would ill deserve the praises bestowed upon it by
the wisest men of this and of every other country in Europe, if
it depended rather upon the uncommon virtues of the prince,
which an hereditary monarchy must render precarious, than upon
attributes which are essential to the sovereign. It is in that
political perfection which this constitution has attributed to the
sacred office of a British sovereign, that consists the shining part
of the most admirable form of government that ever was con-
ceived by the mind of any legislator. It is a false and foolish
notion, that the king is the servant of the public. He is the
soul of the constitution, that which frees it from the tyranny of
aristocracy, and the anarchy of democracy. The servants of the
public are the ministers who surround him, through whom every
act that is done must pass, who alone are responsible, amenable,
and punishable. Nothing can pass from the sovereign to the
subject but through the medium of accountable servants ; and
thus the essence of the constitution is never in danger, unless the
madness or the folly of the people occasion it to be so. Contempt
or aversion may indeed be nationally and universally felt towards
one minister, and his successor may fully restore the dignity of
the office, because it is dependent upon the conduct of the
individual who fills it ; but if the crown becomes contemptible
in the eyes of the people, if the fine veil which the constitution
has so wisely thrown round the person of the king, be rudely or

HOUSE OF LORDS 189

wantonly torn away, then all the attributes of sovereignty sink for
ever. That the king can do no wrong, that the king never dies,
that the throne is never vacant, are ideas so interwoven with our
earliest political feelings and prejudices, as to have become
necessary to the existence of that constitution and of that liberty,
which they are so admirably and wonderfully calculated to support
and preserve. Indeed, the difficulty felt at the Revolution, by
the greatest men of that age, in making the word abdication
consistent with the sense of the constitution, plainly shewed their
knowledge of the great importance of the kingly office, for the
preservation of those liberties which they were met to establish.

To conclude, in the words of Sir W. Blackstone, " Herein
consists the true excellence of the English constitution, that all
the parts of it form a mutual check upon each other. Every
branch of our civil polity supports and is supported, regulates and
is regulated, by the rest : for the two houses naturally drawing in
two directions of opposite interest, and the prerogative in another
still different from them both, they mutually keep each other from
exceeding their proper limits ; while the whole is prevented from
separation, and artificially connected together by the mixed nature
of the crown, which is a part of the legislature and the sole
executive magistrate. Like three distinct powers in mechanics,
they jointly impel the machine of government in a direction
different from what either acting by itself would have done, but
at the same time in a direction partaking of each and formed out
of all, a direction which constitutes the true line of the liberty
and happiness of the community."

The building which is the present House of Lords was formerly
the Court of Requests, and was fitted up for the present purpose
upon the union of Great Britain with Ireland. The tapestry of

i9o THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

the old House of Lords is used to decorate the present, and is
set off with large frames of brown stained wood, which divide it
into separate compartments. The north end of the court is
converted into a lobby, by which the members of the House of
Commons pass to the Upper House. The old canopy of state is
placed at the upper end of the room, with the addition of the
arms of the united kingdom, painted upon silk. On the right
hand of the throne is a seat for the Prince of Wales, on the left
is another for the next person of the royal family, and behind the
throne are places for the young peers who have no votes in the
house. When the king is present with the crown on his head,
the lords sit uncovered, and the judges stand till his majesty gives
them leave to sit. In the king's absence, the lords at their
entrance do reverence to the throne. The lords give their votes
either by proxy or by voting, in which latter case they begin with
the puisne baron, and proceed in a regular series, every one
answering content or not content. If the affirmatives and negatives
are equal, it passes in the negative, the speaker not being allowed
a voice, unless he be a peer of the realm. Each peer has a right
to enter his protest, or the reasons of his dissent, if any vote
passes the house contrary to his sentiments.

It would far exceed our limits to enter more into detail respect-
ing the privileges which belong to the House of Lords.

In the possession of the Earl of Buchan, a few years since,
was a copy from an ancient limning, formerly in the College of
Arms, London, representing Edward I. sitting in Parliament.
On a throne, at the upper end, sits the king, with his name and
arms over his head. On his right, but on a lower seat,
Alexander, King of Scots ; and on his left, on a seat of the
same height with this last, Llewellyn, Prince of Wales ; both

HOUSE OF LORDS 191

distinguished, like Edward himself, by their names and coats
of arms over their heads. Beyond King Alexander, but
on a lower seat, is placed the Archbishop of Canterbury ; and
beyond Llewellyn, on a lower seat likewise, the Archbishop of
York ; both of whom have their coats of arms placed over their
heads. A woolsack lies cross-wise of the house, and on it, in
front of the throne, are four persons sitting, evidently the
chancellor, the two chief justices, and the chief baron of the
Exchequer ; or, in other words, the four chief judges of the four
courts of law. Two other woolsacks are placed at right angles
with the former ; and on each of them sit four persons, no doubt
intended for the other eight judges. Another woolsack is placed
cross-wise of the house, and contains four other persons, sitting
with their faces towards the throne, but uncovered ; and who
these are it is not easy to say. Behind these persons, and with
their faces towards the throne, are two persons standing un-
covered, with something like open papers in their hands,
apparently clerks : and behind these clerks is a cross bench, on
which sit seven persons covered, all with their faces towards the
throne, in gowns or robes ; but the right hand man appears to
sit higher than the rest, and has on a black gown, and a chain
round his neck. Each side of the room contains two benches, at
right angles with the throne : those on the left have two bishops
and five peers on one seat, and seven peers on the other ; and at
the upper end of the front bench of these two, and on a separate
seat which stands forwarder, sits the prince, the son of King
Edward, afterwards King Edward II. The mitred abbots are
placed on the other or right side of the house, and on the bench
nearest the wall ; six of them on that bench, and thirteen more
on a return which it makes at right angles, so as to come behind

192 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

the above-mentioned bench, containing the seven persons : and
on a bench on the right hand side of the house, reckoning from
the throne, and just before the six mitred abbots, sit six bishops.
Other attendants are also introduced, such as a nobleman un-
covered, bearing a sword, who stands behind, near Prince
Edward ; and also an herald uncovered, near this last nobleman.
Between Alexander, King of Scots, and the Archbishop of
Canterbury, but farther back than either, and separated from
the rest of the house by their seats, stands a man in a gown, but
uncovered, with a roll of parchment in his hand. In a similar
situation, between Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, and the Arch-
bishop of York, stand two persons, covered it is true, but,
apparently from their station, no members of the house, because
they are divided from it by the seat, or covered bench, on one
end of which that prince sits.

Excepting in the two instances of the cross benches, one with
the four, and the other with the seven persons before mentioned,
there is no difficulty in ascertaining the different ranks of the
members or persons represented. Who the former might be,
there is no circumstance to decide ; but there seems some reason
to think, that the seven persons were the lesser barons, or what
answered to the present House of Commons ; and that of them,
the figure in black, with a chain round his neck, was their speaker,
whose office, at that time, was apparently much the same as that
of the foreman of a jury in our days, to collect their opinions
individually, and to declare the result collectively, in the name of
the whole body.

From the limning in Lord Buchan's possession, a print is given
in Pinkerton's Iconographia Scotica, and from an examination of
that print the above particulars have been obtained.

a
H

;-=
0
J

193

LOTTEKY

THE plate is a representation of Cooper's Hall, at which
place the Lotteries have been drawn for many years.
The arguments of the moralist and politician differ very
widely upon the propriety of making the passion of the multitude
for gaming subservient to the operations of finance : the subject
admits of too much latitude upon one side, and may be defended
with arguments of equal ingenuity, if not of equal importance,
upon the other, for us to enter upon it within the limits necessarily
prescribed to this work.

The first Lottery of which we have any account in these
kingdoms, was drawn in the year 1569; it consisted of 40,000
lots, at ten shillings each : the prizes were pieces of plate ; and
the profits arising from it, were to go towards repairing the
havens of this kingdom. It was drawn at the west door of
St. Paul's cathedral, and began on the nth January, 1569, and
continued drawing, without intermission, day and night, until the
6th May following. — Maitland, vol. I. p. 257.

At this period there were only three lottery-offices in London.
The proposals for this Lottery were published in the years 1 567
and 1568: it was at first intended to have been drawn at the
house of Mr. Derricke, her majesty's jeweller, but was afterwards
drawn at St. Paul's. Dr. Rawlinson, in the year 1 748, shewed to
the Antiquarian Society, "A proposal for a very rich Lottery,
general, without any blankes, contayning a great number of good

ii.

194 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

prizes, as well of redy money as of plate, and certain sorts of
merchandizes, having been valued and prised by the command-
ment of the queene's most excellent majestie's order, to the
entent that such commodities as may chance to arise thereof
after the charges borne, may be converted towards the reperations
of the havens and strength of the realme, and towards such other
public good workes. The number of lotts shall be foure hundred
thousand, and no more ; and every lot shall be the summe of
tenne shillings sterling only, and no more : to be filled by the
feast of St. Bartholomew. The shew of prises are to be seen
in Cheapside, at the sign of the Queene's Arms, the house of
Mr. Derricke, goldsmith, servant to the queene." Some other
orders about it in 1567-8, printed by Hen. Bynneman. In the
year 1612, King James, in especial favour for the present planta-
tion of English colonies in Virginia, granted a Lottery to be held
at the west end of St. Paul's, whereof one Thomas Sharplys, a
tailor, of London, had the chief prize, which was 4000 crowns in
fair plate. — Baker's Chronicle. See an account of the prizes, &c.
of this Lottery, in Smith's History of Virginia. In the year
1630, a project was set on foot for the conveying water into
London and Westminster, from within a mile and a half of
Hodsdon, in Hertfordshire ; for defraying the expences whereof,
King Charles granted them a special licence to erect and publish
a Lottery or Lotteries, "according," says this record, "to the
course of other Lotteries heretofore used and practised ; " which
is the first mention of Lotteries either in the Fcedera or the
statute books. In the reign of Queen Anne, it was thought
necessary to suppress Lotteries as nuisances to the public.
Statute the loth and nth William III. c. 17. declares ALL

LOTTERY 195

LOTTERIES public nuisances, and all patents for Lotteries void and
against law. The State Lotteries are all managed under annual
acts of Parliament passed for each : a penalty of SOQ/. is also
imposed on every proprietor of a private Lottery, and 2O/. on
each adventurer.

Statute 9th Anne, c. 6. commands justices of peace to assist
in suppressing private Lotteries.

Statute loth Anne, c. 26. imposes the like penalty of 5OO/.
on persons keeping offices for illegal insurances on marriages,
&c. under various pretexts.

Statute 5th George I. c. 9. puts the sale of chances on the
footing of private Lotteries, and imposes a penalty of ioo/.
(above all other penalties), recoverable by the persons possessed
of the ticket, the chance of which was sold, and the offender
may also be committed to the county gaol for a year.

Statute 8th George I. c. 2. imposes a penalty of 5oo/. on
persons keeping offices for the disposal of houses, land,
advowsons, &c. by lottery, and adventurers to forfeit double
the sum contributed.

This statute, and those of loth and nth William III. and
9th Anne, above-mentioned, are explained and rendered more
effectual by statute i2th George II. c. 28. which imposes io/.
penalty on justices neglecting their duty under those acts.

Statutes gth George I. c. 19. and 6th George II. c. 35. impose
a penalty of 2OO/. and a year's imprisonment on persons selling
tickets in, or publishing schemes of, any foreign Lottery.
Ireland is excepted under statute 22d George III. c. 47. —
Statute 29th George II. c. 7. provides that offences against
the English acts against private Lotteries, though committed

196 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

in Ireland, shall be liable to all the penalties imposed as if they
were committed in England.

By statute 2 ad George III. c. 47. all lottery-office-keepers
must take out a licence from the stamp-office, for which they pay
5O/. Offices to be open only from eight in the morning to eight
in the evening (except the Saturday evening preceding the
drawing). The sale of chances (and shares of tickets not their
own), prohibited under 5O/. penalty. Shares to be stamped.

By statute 27th George III. c. i. all unlicensed lottery-office-
keepers, and all persons, directly or indirectly, as principals or
servants, selling chances, or insuring or causing any person to
insure for or against the drawing of any ticket in any State
Lottery, shall be deemed rogues and vagabonds, within the strict
letter of statute i7th George II. c. 5. and other statutes relating
to vagabonds.

MAGDALEN HOUSE

THE Magdalen House, for the reception of penitent female
prostitutes, is situated on the east side of the road leading
from Blackfriars-bridge to the obelisk in St. George's-
fields : it consists of four brick buildings, which inclose a
quadrangle, with a basin in the center. The chapel is an
octangular edifice, erected at one of the back corners ; and to
give the inclosed court uniformity, a building with a similar front
is placed at the opposite corner. This benevolent institution was
projected in the year 1758, by Mr. Robert Dingley : it was at

B
U

MAGDALEN HOUSE 197

first kept in a large house, formerly the London Infirmary, in
Prescot-street, Goodman's-fields, and was called the Magdalen
Hospital. The utility of this charity was so conspicuous, and
so well supported, that the views of the benefactors extended to
the building an edifice more enlarged and convenient for the
purpose : in consequence of which, the spot on which the present
edifice stands was made choice of; and on the 28th of July, in
the year 1769, the Earl of Hertford, president, with the vice-
president and governors, laid the first stone at the altar of the
chapel, under which was placed a brass plate, with the following
inscription :

On the 28th of July,
In the year of our Lord

MDCCLXIX,

And in the ninth year of the reign of
his most sacred Majesty

George III.

King of Great Britain,

Patronized by his Royal Consort,

Queen Charlotte,

This Hospital,

For the reception of

Penitent Prostitutes,

Supported by voluntary contributions,

Was began to be erected,

And the first stone laid by

Francis, Earl of Hertford,

Knight of the most noble order of

the garter, lord chamberlain of

his majesty's household, and one

of his most honourable privy council,

the president.

Joel Johnson, architect.

198 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

During the period that it has subsisted, more than two-thirds
of the women who have been admitted, have been reconciled to
their friends, or placed in honest employments or reputable
services. Of this number, some undoubtedly have relapsed
into their former errors ; but many, who left the house at their
own request, have since behaved well ; and several of those
discharged for improper behaviour, have, to the certain know-
ledge of the committee, never returned to evil courses. A very
considerable number are since married, and are at this moment
respectable members of society. Could their names and situa-
tions be disclosed (which, for the most obvious reasons, would
be highly improper), the very great utility of this charity would
appear in the strongest light.

A probationary ward has been instituted for the young women
on their first admission ; a separation of those of different
descriptions and qualifications has been established ; and apart-
ments have been fitted up in the lodge of the Hospital for the
residence of the chaplain, that he may with the greater facility
devote his attention to the instruction of the women in the most
satisfactory manner.

Each class is entrusted to its particular assistant, and the whole
is under the inspection of the matron. This separation (useful
on many accounts) is peculiarly so to a numerous class of women,
who are much to be pitied, and to whom this charity has been
very beneficial, viz. young women who have been seduced from
their friends under promises of marriage, and have been deserted
by their seducers : they have never been in public prostitution,
but fly to the Magdalen to avoid it : their relations, in the first
moments of resentment, refuse to receive, protect, or acknowledge

MAGDALEN HOUSE 199

them ; they are abandoned by the world, without character,
without friends, without money, without resource, and wretched
indeed is their situation ! To such especially, this house of
refuge opens wide its doors ; and instead of being driven by
despair to lay violent hands on themselves, and to superadd the
crime of self-murder to that guilt which is the cause of their
distress, or of being forced, by the strong calls of hunger, into
prostitution, they find a safe and quiet retreat in this abode of
peace and reflection. To rescue from the threatening horrors of
prostitution such victims of the base and ungenerous, whose ruin
has frequently been more owing to their unsuspecting innocence,
than to any other cause ; to restore them to virtue and industry,
after one false step, and to reconcile their friends, are considera-
tions of the greatest magnitude. The committee generally give
such young women the preference, because they are almost
certain of the best consequences ; for it scarcely ever happens
but their relations relent, when, by taking shelter in this house,
they have given so strong a proof of their determination to quit
a vicious way of life. The method of proceeding for the
admission of women into this Hospital is as follows : The first
Thursday in every month is an admission-day, when sometimes
from twenty to thirty petitioners appear, who, without any
recommendation whatever, on applying at the door to the clerk,
receive a printed form of petition, gratis, which is properly filled
up : each petition is numbered, and a corresponding number is
given to the petitioner herself. They are called in singly before
the board, and such questions are put to them as may enable the
committee to judge of the sincerity of their professions, and to
ascertain the truth of their assertions. If a parent, relation, or
friend, has accompanied them (which, though not necessary, is

200 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

very desirable, and is very frequently the case), these are also
called in separately, and examined, with a view to confirm and
strengthen, if true, or to disprove, if false, the account given by
the women themselves. The committee take particular pains to
select for admission the most deserving, as it often happens that
there are but few vacancies : in the next place, they endeavour,
to the utmost of their ability, to assist such other petitioners as
appear thoroughly resolved to mend their lives. Many are
reconciled to their friends, by the interposition of the committee,
even without being admitted into the house ; and others are
supported until a vacancy takes place, that they may not be
compelled by want to return to their evil ways.

The treatment of the women is of the gentlest kind : they
are instructed in the principles of religion, in reading, and in
several kinds of work, and the various branches of household
employment, to qualify them for service or other situations,
wherein they may honestly earn their bread. The chaplain
attends to them daily, to promote and encourage their good
resolutions, and to exhort them to religion and virtue. The
sacrament is administered on the great festivals, and at other
stated times, when many of the young women who have been
some time in the house, and who, after having themselves
expressed their wish to be instructed in this duty, have been
considered by the chaplain as sufficiently informed and prepared
for it, receive it with the most serious attention.

The time they remain in the house varies according to
circumstances. The greatest pains are taken to find out their
relations and friends, to bring about a reconciliation with them ;
and if they be people of character, to put them under their
protection : if, however, the young women are destitute of such

MAGDALEN HOUSE 201

friends, they are retained in the house till an opportunity offers
of placing them in a respectable service, or of procuring them
the means of obtaining an honest livelihood. No young woman,
who has behaved well during her stay in the house, is discharged
unprovided for.

Four general courts are holden in every year, viz. on the last
Wednesday in January, April, July, and October, when every
governor may be present.

At the general court in April, the committee and all officers,
except the president, are elected.

The committee, consisting of thirty-two governors, meet at
the Hospital every Thursday, at twelve o'clock precisely, except
on the first Thursday of every month, when they meet at eleven.

A subscription of twenty guineas, or more, at one time, or of
five guineas per annum for five successive years, is a qualification
for a governor for life; and an annual subscription of five guineas
for a governor for one year : but smaller subscriptions or
donations are thankfully received.

It is impossible to contemplate the wretched situation of those
miserable females who support themselves by prostitution, with-
out reverting to the causes which have placed many of them in
that dreadful predicament : the tear of pity and the consolations
of religion, are due to these objects more frequently than the
fastidious virtue of their own sex is willing to bestow them.
Seduced from a state of virtue, they are no longer the comfort
of affectionate parents ; born and educated for brighter scenes,
till, deceived by falsehood and villany, they see their error when
too late to recede : abandoned by their former friends and
protectors, they are thrown upon the world ; deserted too by
their seducers, pointed at by the finger of scorn, and driven from

202 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

the society of virtue and innocence, they are obliged to herd with
the profligate, the brutal, and the licentious. If there is a note
of pity in the human heart, surely it must vibrate with every
feeling that leads to the rescue of such objects from a life of
ignominy and shame ; and we hail, with no common degree of
satisfaction, an institution calculated to restore the miserable
victims of seduction to a life of virtue and industrious comfort.

THE MINT

IN the earliest period of our history, so late indeed as the
Norman conquest, the coinage of money was entrusted
to the superintendence of the clergy, and mints were
established in certain monasteries, under the natural presumption,
that such places were best secured from fraud, dishonesty, and
peculation. Edward I. however, thought it would secure it more
from these inconveniences if the coinage were executed at the
Tower ; and he accordingly ordered a mint to be erected there,
of thirty furnaces. At a subsequent period, however, he per-
mitted mints to be established in many other parts of the
kingdom, such as Canterbury, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Bristol, &c.
&c. From this period the privilege of coining was frequently
sold to some nobleman, bishop, or corporation, as the pleasure
or necessities of the prince inclined or compelled him to grant it.
The result of this conduct very naturally produced incon-
veniencies to the public, which continued till the early part of

THE MINT 203

Queen Elizabeth's reign, who endeavoured to rectify them by
confining the mint to the Tower.

The Tower of London has ever since been appropriated for
that purpose, except during the civil wars, when Charles I.
erected mints at Oxford, York, and Newark ; and afterwards
during the reign of William III. who having called in all the
base and dipt money, was (for the sake of expedition) obliged
to erect mints at Bristol, Exeter, York, and Winchester.

The annexed plate is a very animated representation of the
last of many operations necessary to manufacture coin from the
metal, namely the stamping or putting the impression.

It would far exceed the limits of this publication, either to
exhibit the history of money from the earlier ages, when gold
and silver were exchanged by weight, without stamp or im-
pression, for an equivalent in cattle, corn, and other necessaries ;
or the no less interesting account of the impressions which were
first employed to denote the weight and value of coin, to dis-
tinguish the currency of different nations, to perpetuate the
names of the monarchs by whom they were governed, or the
aeras of their respective reigns. The coining of money has ever
been ranked among the most unquestionable and important of
royal prerogatives, and of which every monarch has been most
jealous. Although the coin of all the world has been greatly
diminished from its original value, sometimes from mistaken
policy, and at others from the necessities and avarice of
monarchs, yet the currency of these realms has supported an
uniform superiority over that of other nations ; and the anxiety
which has been shewn at different periods, to restore the standard
of our coin, whenever it has been necessary, forms a brilliant
point in the reigns of some of our best monarchs.

204 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

The charter of our Mint was granted in the reign of Edward I.
and has been confirmed by subsequent sovereigns. The officers
of the Mint are the warden, master, comptroller, and their clerks,
together with an officer called king's clerk ; two assay-masters,
the one denominated king's assayer, and the other master's
assayer ; three engravers, a weigher, and teller ; and the company
of moneyers, &c. All these act, in their respective capacities,
as check officers and manufacturers of the coin ; and the business
of this very important office has been carried on with such
continued exactness, fidelity, and integrity, that no error in the
fineness or weight of the currency has occurred (as appears upon
the records of the various trials of the coin, which have from
time to time taken place), for many ages.

A short account of the manner of making money, may be
amusing to our readers. Originally, the impression was given
upon the pieces by the stroke of a hammer upon a punch bearing
the impression of what was to be struck upon the coin : this was
called hammered money. This tedious and incorrect mode of
coining, was, in 1663, superseded by the method now used,
called mill and screw ; and the money thus coined is called milled
money, of which the following is a concise description : — The
gold, or silver, is first melted into bars, of a width and length
suitable to the coin to be manufactured ; these bars, after being
assayed by the king's assayer, and found to be standard as to
fineness, are passed between two cylinders, to reduce them as
thin as may be necessary ; the circular pieces for coin are then
cut out by an engine, and after undergoing various other pro-
cesses, to adjust, soften, clean them, &c. the pieces are lastly
brought into the press-room (of which the plate is an exact
representation), where they are placed between two dies, the one

THE MINT 205

having the effigy of his majesty, and the other the arms of the
united kingdom ; and by means of a lever loaded with lead at
each end, fixed to a strong screw center, and forced down by
the strength of four men, the impression is marked upon each
side of the coin at one blow ; and this is so expeditiously done,
that sixty, seventy, or eighty pieces can be struck in one minute.
The plate represents various presses, together with the attitudes
of the men, as well of those who pull the lever, as of the person
in the action of putting the pieces between the dies, to receive
the impression. After the money is thus coined, it is again
assayed and weighed by the check officers, and delivered to the
owners of the bullion.

A new Mint is now erecting on the spot where the Victualling-
office formerly stood, upon Little Tower-hill : the scale of it is
magnificent ; and when we state that the buildings are under the
direction of one of the most eminent of our architects, Robert
Smirke, jun. Esq. ; and the machinery and steam-engines, by
which the operative parts are to be performed, under that of
John Rennie, Esq. engineer, and Messrs. Boulton and Co.
assisted by the practical knowledge of the officers of his
majesty's Mint, the public may expect, in a short time, that this
country will possess a Mint unrivalled in point of elegance, utility,
and perfection, and upon a scale equal to any coinages that a
great, wealthy, and commercial nation may require : this per-
fection in workmanship, added to the uniform and unrivalled
integrity as to fineness and weight, for which the coin of these
realms has ever been distinguished, will render the royal Mint
of the united kingdom the most^perfect establishment of its kind
in the world.

206

MOUNTING
GUARD, ST. JAMES'S PARK

THE noble edifice of the Horse Guards stands upon part
of the site of the vast palace of Whitehall, occupying
that spot which was formerly the Tilt-yard ; a place
set apart by Henry VIII. and afterwards by Elizabeth, for
military exercises.

A building appropriated to the same purposes was in existence
during the reign of Charles II. who, soon after his restoration,
raised a body of men that was stationed here, and on whom the
appellation of Horse Guards was conferred. The building has
rather the appearance of strength than elegance, and has been
found fault with for the too great uniformity of its parts. In the
center is an arched way into St. James's Park, the building over
which has a pediment, with the king's arms in bass-relief; but
this being the passage by which his majesty passes to and from
the House of Peers, it should certainly have been constructed in
a more noble and lofty style : the wings are plain, and have each
of them a projecting front, with ornamented windows on the
principal story, and a plain one in the side. The building is said
to have cost more than 3o,ooo/. That part of St. James's Park
immediately behind the building, is the parade, and is so called
from being the place where the reliefs for the different guards
about the palace are every morning paraded and inspected, a

MOUNTING GUARD, ST. JAMES'S PARK 207

representation of which is given in the plate. In the reign of
James II. when it was customary to mount guard at St. James's
and Whitehall, a most ungracious message was sent by that
monarch to the Prince of Orange, inviting him to take his
lodgings at the latter : the prince accepted the invitation, but
hinted that the king must previously quit. The old hero, Lord
Craven, was on duty at the time when the Dutch guards were
marching through the park to relieve, by order of their master.
From a point of honour, Lord Craven had determined not to
quit his post, and was preparing to maintain it ; but receiving
the command of his sovereign at this instant, he reluctantly
withdrew his men, and marched away with silent dignity.
Antiquarians inform us, that in Henry VIII.'s time the park
was a wild, wet field ; but when that prince built St. James's
Palace, he inclosed this field, laid it out in walks, collected the
waters, and gave to the new-inclosed ground and the palace,
the name of St. James. It was very much improved by Charles
II. who added to it several fields, planted it with rows of lime
trees, laid out the Mall (which is a vista nearly half a mile in
length), and formed the canal, which is 100 feet broad and 2,800
feet long. Succeeding kings allowed to the people the privilege
of walking in it; and King William III. in 1699, granted the
neighbouring inhabitants a passage into it from Spring-gardens.
The building of the Horse Guards began in the year 1751,
and was very expeditiously completed. It is certainly a neat
and compact piece of architecture, and appears to the greatest
advantage when viewed at a distance, from the park. It contains
a variety of offices necessary for the transaction of business
relating to the army ; all of them very convenient, and many of
them extremely elegant.

208

NEWGATE

IT is the opinion of our best antiquarians, that Newgate
obtained its name from being erected several hundred years
after the four original gates of the city. It was built in the
reign of Henry I. Others, who maintain a contrary opinion,
assert that it was only repaired at this period, and that it was
anciently denominated Chamberlain-gate. It appears, from
ancient records, that it was called Newgate, and was a common
gaol for felons taken in the city of London, or the county of
Middlesex, as early as the year 1218; and that, so late as the
year 1457, Newgate, and not the Tower, was the prison for the
nobility and great officers of state.

In the year 1780, Newgate was almost burnt down by the
rioters, and the felons confined in the strongest cells were re-
leased : such was the violence of the fire, that the great iron bars
of the windows were burnt through, and the adjacent stones
vitrified. This circumstance afforded the opportunity of carrying
into effect a plan which had been long projected, of separating
the felons from the debtors. Mr. Howard, in his State of
Prisons, 410 ed. 213, seems to think, that notwithstanding some
of the defects of the old prison are removed, yet the present one
is by no means free from errors ; and that, without great care, the
prisoners are yet liable to the fatal fever which is the result of
one of these errors. The exterior presents a uniform front to
the west, of rustic work, and consists of two wings, the keeper's

NEWGATE 209

house forming the center. The north side is appropriated to
debtors, men and women : the men's court is forty-nine feet six
inches by thirty-one feet six inches ; the women's about the same
length, but not more than half the width. These courts are
surrounded by wards, rising three stories above the pavement :
the men's rooms are about twenty-three feet by fifteen feet, and
are usually occupied by from fifteen to twenty persons : the
debtors' side has generally about 250 inhabitants. The allowance
to debtors is ten ounces of bread and one pound and a half of
potatoes per day : the debtors in the poor and women's sides
have an allowance of eight stone of beef weekly sent them by
the sheriffs. The south side is appropriated to felons and persons
confined for offences against government.

The plate represents the chapel of the prison during divine
service on the Sunday preceding the execution of criminals.
Upon this occasion, a suitable sermon, called the condemned
sermon, is preached by the ordinary ; during which a coffin is
placed on a table within an inclosure, called the Dock ; and round
this coffin are prisoners condemned to die.

The mode of executing criminals at Tyburn had long been
complained of, as tending rather to introduce depravity, by a
want of solemnity, than to operate as a preventive to crimes, by
exhibiting an awful example of punishment. To remedy this
evil, both the place and manner of execution were changed : a
temporary scaffold was constructed, to be placed in the open
space before the debtors' door of Newgate, having a movable
platform for the criminals to stand on, which, by means of a
lever and rollers, falls from under them. The whole of this
building is hung with black ; and the regulations which are
observed on these mournful occasions, are calculated to produce

n. — P

210 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

that impression on the minds of the spectators which is the true
end of all punishments.

A solemn exhortation was formerly given to the prisoners
appointed to die at Tyburn, on their way from Newgate. Mr.
Robert Dow, merchant tailor, who died in 1612, left 265. 8d.
yearly, for ever, that the bellman should deliver from the wall to
the unhappy criminals, as they went by in the cart, a most pious
and awful admonition, and also another in the prison of Newgate
on the night before they suffered. They were as follow :

Admonition to the prisoners in Newgate on the night before

execution.

You prisoners that are within,
Who, for wickedness and sin,

After many mercies shewn you, are now appointed to die to-
morrow in the forenoon, give ear, and understand, that to-morrow
morning the greatest bell of St. Sepulchre's shall toll for you, in
form and manner of a passing bell, as used to be tolled for those
who are at the point of death, to the end that all godly people
hearing that bell, and knowing it is for your going to your deaths,
may be stirred up heartily to pray to God to bestow his grace and
mercy upon you whilst you live. I beseech you, for Jesus
Christ's sake, to keep this night in watching and prayer, to the
salvation of your own souls, while there is yet time and place for
mercy, as knowing to-morrow you must appear before the
judgment-seat of your Creator, there to give an account of all
things done in this life, and to suffer eternal torments for your
sin committed against him, unless, upon your hearty and un-
feigned repentance, you find mercy through the merits, death,
and passion of our only mediator and advocate, Jesus Christ,

OLD BAILEY 211

who now sits at the right hand of God to make intercession
for as many of you as penitently return to him.

Admonition to the condemned criminals as they are passing by

St. Sepulchres church wall to execution.

All good people, pray heartily to God for these poor sinners,
who are now going to their death, for whom this great bell doth
toll. You that are condemned to die, repent with lamentable
tears ; ask mercy of the Lord for the salvation of your own
souls, through the merits, death, and passion of Jesus Christ,
who now sits at the right hand of God to make intercession for
as many of you as penitently return unto him.

Lord have mercy upon you,
Christ have mercy upon you,
Lord have mercy upon you,
Christ have mercy upon you.

OLD BAILEY

MANY of our antiquarians are of opinion that the term
Old Bailey is a corruption of Bale-hill, an eminence
on which stood the Bale, or bailiffs house, wherein
was formerly held a court for the trial of malefactors ; and this
opinion seems to be confirmed by such a court having been kept
here for many centuries, in which there is a place of security
where the sheriffs keep their prisoners during the session, which
still retains the name of the Bale-dock.

Contiguous to Newgate is Justice Hall, commonly called the
Sessions-House : it was formerly a plain brick building, but is
now rebuilt entirely of stone, and is brought much forwarder than
the old one, and is parallel with the street. There is a flight of

2i2 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

steps which leads to a gallery on each side of the court, for the
accommodation of spectators. It is a very elegant and com-
modious room. The entrance into the area is narrow, to prevent
the sudden irruption of the mob : above it is a figure of Justice.
Every precaution has been taken to render it airy, and to prevent
the effect of the effluvia arising from that dreadful disorder, the
gaol fever.

The havoc it made in May 1750, was a melancholy admonition
to those interested in every court of justice. The prisoners are
brought to this court from Newgate by a passage that closely
connects the two buildings ; and there is a convenient place under
the Sessions-House, in front, for detaining the prisoners till they
are called upon their trials : there are also rooms for the grand
and petty juries, with other accommodations.

A court is held eight times in the year, by a commission of
Oyer and Terminer, for the trial of prisoners for crimes com-
mitted within the city of London and county of Middlesex : the
judges are, the lord mayor, the aldermen who have passed the
chair, and the recorder, who, on such occasions, are attended by
both the sheriffs, and by one or more of the judges. The
offences committed in the city are tried by a jury of citizens ;
and those committed in the county, by a jury of housekeepers
in the county. The crimes tried in this court are high and petty
treason, murder, felony, forgery, petty larceny, burglary, &c.

At the back of the Sessions- House is a convenient passage,
covered over, for the judge and counsellors that attend the court.

The plate represents the court employed in the examination of
a witness, who appears to have just received the usual admonition
upon these occasions, of "Hold up your head, young woman, and
look at his lordship."

r-"1
H
1-3

2I3

OPEBA-HOUSE

THE Opera- House is a noble pile of building, situated
near the bottom of the Haymarket, on the west side.
It was originally built by Sir John Vanburgh, during the
years 1704-5, and was first opened in the month of April 1705,
for the performance of Italian operas, under the title of the
Queen's Theatre. The precarious encouragement which was
afforded to musical spectacles of a nature entirely novel, by the
attendance of the public, rendered it necessary, a few years
afterwards, to raise a fund for the more permanent establishment
of the Italian opera in this kingdom. In consequence of a
determination to this effect, the sum of 5O,ooo/. was raised by
subscription in the year 1720, towards which his Majesty
George I. subscribed iooo/.

The plan was well conceived and digested ; the first vocal
performers were brought from Italy, and the best composers
from the Continent were encouraged to employ their talents in
this undertaking. Handel and Bononcini, with many others,
were by this means introduced to the public. The opera
flourished for some time, and a taste for classical performances
was by degrees encouraged and disseminated. The superiority
of the Italians, both as vocal and instrumental performers, was
at this period so indisputable, that they were exclusively employed,
and the riches of the country enabled the directors to procure
the best performers that the Continent could supply. But music

2i4 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

seems to be approaching very fast towards the fate that has been
experienced by most of the arts, which advance by slow degrees
to a certain point of perfection, which it is equally difficult to
preserve as to acquire. Modern music was first methodized by
Guido Aretine, and received but little improvement for many
centuries afterwards. At the time that Italy produced her best
painters, some of her best musicians flourished. In England we
began much later : it was not till the reign of Elizabeth that we
had any music that could possibly compete with the Italian.
From this period our advances were again very slow for many
years, and although Gibbons did something, Purcel was the first
who improved air, which is the great support of modern music.
Purcel was a great master, and his genius, though disguised by
the false ornaments of the age in which he lived, was of the first
order. He has perhaps laboured too much to imitate the words,
rather than to express the thought of the sentence ; and his
frequent repetitions of the same word, and his almost infinite
divisions, are not to be defended : but when the imitation of his
defects, rather than his beauties, began to operate upon the
general taste, Handel most seasonably made his appearance, to
rescue us from a return to barbarity. He introduced and estab-
lished a new species : though frequently defective in expression
and elegance, he certainly brought air to its utmost perfection.
But notwithstanding the great style in which his performances
were exhibited a few years since, it is certain that we are getting
very fast into as frivolous and trifling a taste for music as ever
existed. Voltaire observes, La musique aujord hui nest phis que
I' art dexecuter des choses difficiles. It is true Voltaire almost
assumed a merit from perpetually expressing a contempt as well
as ignorance of music ; but there is much truth in the observation :

THE PANTHEON 215

for the art of playing upon musical instruments is degenerating
very fast into the art of playing tricks upon them. In order to
bend what is crooked so as to make it strait, we bend it as much
the other way : and if it should fortunately become fashionable
to retreat from ornament in music as much as in drapery, we may
hope to hear music plain and unadorned, and the air of the
moderns united with the substantial harmony of our predecessors.
The English performers have certainly rivalled with great success
both the Italians and Germans in accuracy and execution ; but,
with the exception of Mrs. Billington, the vocal performers of
this country are very inferior to the Italians.

The scenery of the Opera- House is very good, and does great
honour to the talents of the artists employed. The stage-room is
not sufficient for the magnificent ballets which the prevailing
taste of the day requires. The audience part of the house is
in a superior taste and style.

THE PANTHEON

THIS building is situated on the south side of Oxford-
street. It was opened on the 28th April, 1772, as a
place of evening entertainment for the nobility and
gentry. It was a most superb and beautiful structure previous to
its destruction by fire in the year 1792, and was fitted up in a
style of great splendour and magnificence. Imagination cannot
well exceed the elegance and grandeur of the apartments, the
boldness of the paintings, or the effect produced by the disposition

216 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

of the lights, which were reflected from gilt vases. Below the
dome were a number of statues, representing most of the heathen
gods and goddesses supposed to be in the ancient Pantheon at
Rome, from which it derived its name. To these were added
three beautiful statues of white porphyry, representing the king,
and queen, and Britannia. The whole building was composed of
a suite of fourteen rooms, each affording a striking specimen of
the splendour and profusion of the times. On the i4th January,
1792, this beautiful structure was destroyed by a fire, that broke
out in one of the new buildings, which had been added in order
to make it large enough for the performance of operas. Before
any engines reached the spot, the fire had got to such a height,
that all attempts to save the building were in vain. The flames,
owing to the scenery, oil, paint, and other combustible matter in
the house, were tremendous, and so rapid in their progress, that
not a single article could be saved. Fortunately, the height of
the walls prevented the conflagration from spreading to the
adjoining buildings.

Since the Pantheon was rebuilt, it has been principally used
for exhibitions, and occasionally for masquerades, of which the
plate is a very spirited representation. It is composed, as these
scenes usually are, of a motley crowd of peers and pickpockets,
honourables and dishonourables, Jew brokers and demireps,
quidnuncs and quack doctors. These entertainments are said
not to accord with the English character ; and we should have
been inclined to impute this want of congeniality to a fund of
good sense, which renders our countrymen insensible to such
entertainments, if we were not daily witnesses of their pursuing
amusements less rational and infinitely more frivolous.

PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY

THE object and design of punishment is, to deter men
from the commission of crimes by the operation of fear ;
the object of education is, to prevent the necessity of
punishment by detaching them from vice by means of the hopes
and rewards of religion. Whatever may have been the vain
theories of philosophy, no man can have lived in the world
without observing, that something more is necessary to enable
us upon all occasions to act properly, than the mere " beauty of
virtue." No man can be really insensible to this important truth,
that there are some occasions in the course of life, where probity
is not sufficiently strong to resist certain temptations, and wherein
the mind is debased, unless it is elevated by religious habits, and
a firm belief of immortality. If this reasoning be true in the
abstract, how strongly does it apply to a class of objects, who
had long been the outcasts of society, and the disgrace of the
nation ; who, inheriting from their parents habits of vice and
principles of irreligion, were thrown upon the world without
character, without friends, the miserable objects, not of pity, but
of contempt and abhorrence. A society formed for the purpose
of rescuing children of this description from infamy and the
gallows, by extending to them the benefits of a religious
education, and affording the opportunity of a decent and proper

2i8 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

means of gaining their daily bread by honest employment, seems
at the first blush to be a society of such a description as all ranks,
from the prince to the peasant, might not only applaud, but
support ; and it would appear, that the mode in which the society
pursues the objects for which it was instituted, require only to be
thoroughly understood by the public, to entitle it to that assistance
which its meritorious nature entitles it.

This society was instituted in the year 1788, and incorporated
in 1806, by the name and style of The President, Vice- President,
Treasurer, and Members of the Philanthropic Society.

The object of the society, as stated by themselves, is to give a
good education, with the means of acquiring an honest livelihood,
to some, who must otherwise set out in life under circumstances
of peculiar disadvantage, and who, if not protected and instructed
by this charity, would probably fall into bad hands, and become
the wretched pupils of vice and profligacy.

It is notorious, that among the numbers annually condemned
in this country to death or transportation, many may be found
who have been tutored and disciplined from their infancy in
vicious practices, and who were actually engaged, at a very early
age, in the commission of crimes. Nor is this matter of surprise:
children are much fitter instruments for experienced villany to
work with, than accomplices of riper age ; being in a less degree
objects of suspicion, they have less vigilance to encounter on the
part of those who are to be defrauded or attacked : they may be
employed without being admitted into the secrets of the gang ;
they can therefore make no material discoveries in the event of
detection, and in case of success, they will be contented with an
inconsiderable portion of the plunder.

PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY 219

The children taken under the care of this society are either the
offspring of convicted felons, or such as have themselves been
engaged in criminal practices. The former have probably been
contaminated by the sentiments and example of the parent before
his conviction, and are orphans under circumstances which
operate in general to exclude them from respectable situations :
they may indeed be sent to the parish workhouse, but there too
the obloquy of their birth must follow them ; and it is almost of
course, that they should herd with the idle and the profligate, by
whom the fate of their parents will be considered a recommenda-
tion. The children of the second class, viz. those who have
themselves been criminal, have also strong claims on the com-
passion of the charitable. It frequently happens, that very
serious offences are committed at an age which does not allow
of their being followed by legal punishment. In this situation
are such children as have been carried before a magistrate for
theft or fraudulent practices, and have been discharged, not in
consequence of any doubt respecting their guilt, but either for
want of complete legal evidence, or the unwillingness of the
injured party to bring them to trial ; or children who, after being
tried and convicted, have been recommended to the care of the
society, as fitter subjects for the discipline of education, than for
the vengeance of the law. There are some within its walls, upon
whom (though sentenced to transportation or death) the law must
have taken its course, if the institution had not, by preparing an
asylum for the offender when pardoned, afforded to the crown
an opportunity of exercising mercy, without endangering the
public safety.

Objects are admitted by the committee, at its weekly meetings,

220 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

held at twelve o'clock on every Friday, at the St. Paul's coffee-
house, in St. Paul's churchyard. They are seldom taken younger
than eight or nine, or older than twelve : no female has of late
been received beyond that age. All letters, introducing or
recommending an object, addressed to the committee, or their
secretary, by subscribers to the charity, or other persons of
respectability, are duly acknowledged, and the proceedings there-
on communicated in the answer. No particular introduction or
interest is necessary to induce the committee to take any case,
which may be brought before it, into consideration, the want of
other countenance and protection constituting, from the very
principles of this institution, a strong claim to its attention ; nor
can any recommendation be allowed to operate in procuring
admission, except as far as they contain material information con-
cerning the case to which they relate : considered in this light,
the recommendations of judges and magistrates in favour of
children who have come within their notice as criminals, receive
particular attention.

The society has, for the reception of the children taken under
its care, an house at Bermondsey, called The Reform, and a
large manufactory in St. George's-fields, for the boys ; and a
spacious building, adjoining to the manufactory, for the girls.

All boys admitted on account of their own delinquency, are
sent in the first instance to the Reform. This very important
addition to the society's establishment was made in 1802, partly
in consequence of the inconvenience and impropriety of placing
such as were criminal amongst those who had not been received
as guilty of any crime, and partly from the necessity of keeping
boys of the former description under a stricter superintendence,

PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY 221

and in more close confinement, than was consistent with the
regulations of a manufactory. The system in the Reform is
framed with a view to the amendment of the moral character
by instruction.

The sons of convicts, not having themselves been criminal,
are sent at once to the manufactory, which is very extensive ;
containing, besides accommodation for lodging one hundred boys,
workshops for carrying on the following trades, viz. printing,
copper-plate printing, shoe-making, tailor's work, rope-making,
and twine-spinning.

The girls are placed in a building contiguous to the manu-
factory ; but all intercourse between them and the boys is
effectually prevented by a wall of considerable height. They
are in general the offspring of convicts, such only being received,
in consequence of their own misconduct, as may have been guilty
of a single act of dishonesty, or have misbehaved at a very early
age. The girls are brought up for menial servants : they make
their own clothing, and shirts for the boys, and wash and mend
for the manufactory ; besides which, their earnings in plain work
have for the last three years been considerable. When of proper
age they are placed out, at low wages, in respectable families, and
receive rewards for good behaviour at the end of the first and
third years of their service.

The general management and direction of the society's affairs
are entrusted to the committee, at whose meetings every member
of the institution may attend, and give his opinion upon any
point under consideration, but without voting. The proceedings
of the committee are, however, subject to the reversion and
controul of general meetings of the members, which are held on

222 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

the first Friday in March, June, September, and December, and
oftener if specially summoned.

In order to give the children in the manufactory and female
school the advantage of attending the public worship of the
church without inconvenience, the society has been engaged for
some years (as has frequently been mentioned in its publications)
in the erection of a chapel within its own walls. Difficulties
have been encountered, which could not have been overcome
without the aid and protection of the legislature. But these
obstacles being at length surmounted, the chapel was regularly
opened in the month of November 1806, for the celebration of
divine worship, according to the rites and ceremonies of the
church of England, under the authority of the bishop of the .
diocese, and with the express sanction of Parliament ; a sanction
granted in consequence of the strong sense entertained by the
different branches of the legislature, of the public utility of this
institution, and of its peculiar claims upon that ground to the
privilege of having a chapel annexed to it, with ministers to
officiate therein, of its own appointment and nomination. The
print gives a representation of the interior of the chapel, which,
from the time of its being opened, has been numerously and
most respectably attended.

The claims of a society, which substitutes prevention or re-
formation for punishment, to the favourable attention of the
public, require but little proof, in a country in which wealth and
luxury have produced their usual consequences, the increase of
crimes ; and in which the severity of the law cuts off annually a
long list of offenders, without being able to lessen the frequency
of offence. It is an institution, in the support of which the best

PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY 223

impulses of the heart will be found to act in concurrence with
the suggestions of the understanding, and the dictates of the
soundest policy. The situation of those who, as yet innocent
of their father's crimes stand as it were upon the threshold of
vice, without the means of retreat, demands the exertion of
benevolence with an urgency which it seems difficult to resist.
The execution of an old offender removes a single criminal from
society ; the reformation of a young one protects the public, not
only from the crimes which he would otherwise have committed,
but from the mischief which might result from all those whom
his bad example, or pernicious instructions, would have corrupted.
Nor is this all : execution only removes the criminal ; reformation
makes him useful to his country. The effect of this institution
is, to convert persons, who, by their birth, or in their infancy, are
become outlaws, as it were, and rebels to society, into good
subjects and industrious members of the community ; an effect
of which, considered even in a pecuniary point of view, it is not
easy to compute the advantage.

The number of children within the society's walls at present
are, 122 boys (of whom 14 are in the Reform, and 108 in the
manufactory,) and 49 girls. There are also eight apprentices
serving masters out of the manufactory, but still under the
protection of the society.

The Philanthropic Society is supported by voluntary con-
tributions, and consists of an unlimited number of members,
out of whom a president, twelve vice-presidents, a treasurer,
and a committee of twenty-four persons, are elected for the
management and direction of the affairs of the institution. The
general controul of the affairs of the corporation is in the

THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

members at large, assembled in a general court. A subscription
of twenty guineas, paid at one time, or within one year, con-
stitutes a member for life. A subscription of the yearly sum
of one guinea or more, constitutes the subscriber a member
during such time as he shall continue to pay the same. Persons
may also become members by the appointment of a general
court.

The number of children maintained in the year 1807 was 191,
including those whose apprenticeships expired and those placed
out at service ; and the number remaining on the 3 1 st December,
1807, was 119 boys and 49 girls, in the whole 168; which last
number was, on the 25th March, 1808, increased by new ad-
missions to 174.

HENRY HARNAGE, )

_ >• auditors.

THOS. JACKSON, j

PRESIDENT.
His Royal Highness the Duke of York.

VICE-PRESIDENTS.

His Grace the Duke of Leeds. Right Hon. Viscount Cremorne.

Most Noble Marquis of Salisbury. Hon. Philip Pusey.

Right Hon. Earl of Aylesford. George Hardinge, Esq.

Right Hon. Earl Spencer. James Sims, M. D. and LL. D.

Right Hon. Earl Grosvenor. John Harman, Esq.

Right Hon. Viscount Bulkeley. George Holford, Esq. M. P.
Edward Gale Boldero, Esq. treasurer.

COMMITTEE.

James Royer, Esq. Charles Enderby, Esq.

Rev. William Agutter. Daniel Mildred, Esq.

Henry Hoare, Esq. Thomas Smith, Esq.

Thomas Jackson, Esq. Thomas Fynmore, Esq.

PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY

225

Colonel Sweedland.
Peter Mortimer, Esq.
Stephen Gaselee, Esq.
Colonel Harnage.
Samuel Bosanquet, Esq.
James Allen Park, Esq.
Rev. John Gamble.
Jeremiah Harman, Esq.

George Holford, Esq. M. P.
John Baker, Esq.

Charles Dodd, Esq.
John Blades, Esq.
Benjamin Hutton, Esq.
Charles Bosanquet, Esq.
John Baker, Esq.
Thomas Palmer, Esq.
John Hosier, Esq.
David King, Esq.

VISITORS.

Rev. Philip Dodd.
William Houlston, Esq.

AUDITORS OF ACCOUNTS.

Colonel Harnage. Charles Bosanquet, Esq. Thomas Jackson, Esq.
Rev. John Grindley, LL. D. chaplain to the Reform at Bermondsey.

Rev. Nathaniel Parker Forth, A. B. chaplain to the manufactory in St. George' s-
fields, reader in the chapel, and secretary.

Rev. Richard Yates, B. D. and Rev. Isaac Jackman, preachers.

James Sims, M. D. and LL. D. physician.

Mr. William Norris, surgeon. Mr. J. H. Hooper, apothecary.
Mr. J. Durand, superintendent. Mr. T. Russel, steward.

II.— Q

226

PILLOEY

TH E plate is a representation of the Pillory, as it appears
at Charing-Cross, a place very frequently chosen for this
kind of punishment, probably on account of its being so
public a situation, and having so extensive an area for the
spectators, who never fail to be drawn together by such an
exhibition. An offender thus exposed to public view, is after-
wards considered infamous. The degree of this punishment
depends very much upon the nature of the crime. There are
certain offences which are supposed to irritate the feelings of the
lower class more than others, in which cases the punishment of the
Pillory becomes very serious. If a sense of ingenuous shame were
excited by this mode of public exposure, we should recommend
the extending it to those fashionable crimes which so often fall
under the cognizance of our courts of justice, and destroy all the
ties that hold society together ; and we cannot help thinking, that
the experiment might be tried with success, in order to suppress
such offences as are ridiculously imputed to an excess of sensibility.
The word Pillory is derived from the French pilleur, that is,
depeculator, or pelori, from the Greek Hv\>j, janua, a door, and
Opaw, video, I see ; because a delinquent in the pillory is seen as it
were with his head through a door. By the statute of the Pillory,
5 ist Henry III. chap. 6. it is appointed for bakers, forestallers, and
those who use false weights, perjury, forgery, &c. — 3 INST. 219.
Lords of leets are to have a pillory and tumbrel, or it will be cause
of forfeiture of the leet ; and a vill may be bound by prescription
to provide a pillory, &c. — 2 HAWK. P. C. c. n. sec. 5.

•

'f 3

227

POST-OFFICE

IN the earlier stages of society, and previous to the establish-
ment of any regular system for the conveyance of important
intelligence, either of a private or public nature, we have
reason to suppose that occasional carriers were employed for that
purpose, as convenience suggested, or as necessity required. It
is probable, that horses were at these remote periods seized for
this use ; or, what is still more probable, that men were tutored
to run from station to station, as is now the practice among the
eastern nations, where the couriers run their allotted distances
with astonishing celerity. Even pigeons have been taught to
fly with letters attached to them. The Emperor Trajan appears
to have been the first who directed horses to be kept for this
purpose only. Louis XI. King of France, established the first
regular conveyance of this description upon the Continent, in the
year 1464, for the more speedy information, which he thought it
necessary to possess, concerning the state of his extensive
dominions. Surrounding nations soon adopted his regulations,
and each suited them to its own peculiar circumstances.
Respecting the antiquity of this establishment in England, it is
not so easy to determine. There are some traces of it so early
as the time of Edward III. but the earliest mention of chief
post-master for England, is in Camden's Annals, under date
1581. James I. erected the first Post-Office for the conveyance
of letters to and from foreign parts, which he placed under the

228 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

controul of one Matthew de 1'Equester. This office was after-
wards claimed by Lord Stanhope; but, in 1632, was confirmed
and continued to Wm. Frizel and Thomas Witherings, by
Charles I.; and in 1635, all private inland posts were forbidden.

This branch of the revenue seems to have been but little
attended to before the usurpation, till which time the posts were
confined to a few of the principal roads. The outline of the
more regular and extensive plan which was afterwards adopted,
seems to have originated with Mr. Edmund Prideaux, attorney-
general to the commonwealth, who was appointed post-master by
an ordinance of the two Houses of Parliament, in the execution
of which office he first established a weekly conveyance of letters
to all parts of the nation.

In 1644, the revenue supposed to have been collected was
about 5OOO/. In 1653-4, the Parliament farmed this revenue
to a Mr. Manly for io,ooo/. (which Mr. Pennant has, by some
mistake, called a hundred thousand pounds), and after deducting
the charges of post-masters, &c. produced a benefit to the public
of about 7OOO/.

In 1656, a new and regular Post-Office was established, by
the authority of the Protector and his Parliament, upon nearly the
same plan as at present; and in 1660, an act of Parliament
passed, re-establishing the regulations of 1656, with some im-
provements, and authorizing the king to establish a Post-Office
in London, and Post-Houses in such parts of the country as were
unprovided, both on the post and by-roads. From this period to
the present many other acts of the legislature have been passed,
to improve and extend this system, which is at present one of the
best organized engines of finance existing under any government.

POST-OFFICE 229

It has been gradually brought, from the first exertions of indivi-
duals, replete with abuse, irregularity, and uncertainty, to its
present state of perfection ; and is now, not only a source of
great profit to government, but commerce derives from its
establishment a facility of correspondence, which could not be
effected by means less powerful or less regular.

Among the other improvements, that which deserves our
particular notice in this work, is the alteration suggested and
carried into effect, by Mr. John Palmer, of Bath. Some general
ideas of the reform which has since taken place, were first
suggested to Mr. Pitt in the autumn of 1784, and in the begin-
ning of the following year a plan was given in to him. After
having maturely considered it, the minister determined that it
should undergo a trial. This original plan, which, though it has
been greatly improved, contains all the principles of the under-
taking, and in its present state of perfection is a curious and
interesting memoir, of which we regret that our limits will not
permit us to give the outlines. Those who have travelled in
mail-coaches, which were a principle feature in Mr. Palmer's
plan, need not be informed of their rapid motions, nor of the
constant, uninterrupted assiduity of the coachmen, the guards,
the officers at the different post-towns, and even of the ostlers,
to expedite their progress ; and foreigners, who have no such
arrangements for the convenience of commerce or travelling in
their own countries, must form a very favourable idea of the
commercial character of the British nation, from this establish-
ment. The regular influx and reflux of money to and from the
capital, and the natural effect produced by these diurnal rotations
upon the circulation of the kingdom, is a source of new and

23o THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

curious speculation, and is not perhaps one of the least deserving
among the many which claim the attention of the philosopher.

The General Post-Office was originally situated in Cloak-lane,
near Dowgate ; whence it was afterwards removed to the Black
Swan, in Bishopsgate -street ; and finally to the mansion of
Sir Robert Vyner, in Lombard -street, of whom a curious
anecdote is related in the Spectator, No. 462. The convivial
Sir Robert Vyner, during his mayoralty in 1675, was honoured
with the presence of his sovereign, Charles II. His majesty was
for retiring after staying the usual time, but Sir Robert, filled
with good liquor and loyalty, laid hold of the king, and swore,
" Sir, you shall take t'other bottle." The good-natured monarch
looked kindly at him over the shoulder, and, with a smile and
graceful air, repeated this line of the old song,

" He that's drunk is as great as a king,"

and immediately turned back, and complied with his landlord.

But important as the concerns of this establishment are to a
commercial nation like our own, the edifice can merit no praise as
a building. It stands behind Lombard -street, from which a
passage, under an arched gateway on the south side, leads to the
offices. It is a national reproach, when edifices of this kind,
which, from our great mercantile concerns, afford occasion for a
display of public architecture, and ornament to the metropolis,
are lost to those purposes.

The print is an exact representation of the office whence the
letters are delivered in the morning, and where the newspapers
are sorted in the evening.

This office is under the controul of two noblemen, holding a
situation termed joint post -masters general. The present post-

POST-OFFICE 231

masters are the Earl of Chichester and the Earl of Sandwich,
from whom all appointments in the office must proceed, and
whose sanction is necessary to all orders and regulations. The
duty of the secretary is, to manage, under the post -masters
general, the correspondence by post throughout the country, to
deliver his opinion upon all regulations submitted for the con-
sideration of the board, and its orders are issued through this
channel.

The duty of the inland department is under the management
of a superintending president, in conjunction with three presidents
and three vice-presidents : it commences at six o'clock, and is
usually finished at ten or eleven in the morning. The letters,
after they are taken from the bags, are carefully counted, and the
amount of postage taken, to check the account of the deputy
post-masters in the country ; they then pass through the hands
of persons by whom they are all individually examined as to the
correctness of the charges made by the post-masters from whence
they come ; and, after being stamped, are assorted to the different
districts, as they are divided among the letter-carriers. Previous
to their being issued from this office into the hands of the letter-
carriers, the amount of each parcel of letters is twice counted up.
Every letter-carrier is responsible for the account taken of those
letters that belong immediately to his division. The payment of
the postage is made by them into the receiver-general's office
three times a week, where a check for each day's amount is kept
against them. The utmost care and diligence are exerted, in
order to prevent the public and the revenue from suffering from
the numerous hands through which letters must necessarily pass
before they reach the owners : the apparently precarious mode of

232 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

collecting these levies, is regulated by plans that insure the
revenue from frauds, that might otherwise so easily exist. The
circumstance of this great engine to the commercial world, com-
mencing its operations at so early an hour, enables the public to
receive their correspondence before the business of the day is
begun ; an advantage which exists only in London.

Attendance is given in the evening by a different set of clerks,
who relieve those employed in the morning. The office hours
are from half past four till eight o'clock, during which interval
the letters which have been put into the office in the course of
the day, and those brought from the various receiving houses, are
stamped, assorted, and arranged for the different divisions of the
office, each named from the mail that is dispatched from thence.
The duty of assorting the letters to these divisions is done by the
junior clerks, who are instructed, at first entering, in the know-
ledge of the situation of all the post-towns, and their local relation
to one another. After sorting the letters, the proper rate of
postage is marked on them ; each individual letter being at the
same time examined, to detect double and treble letters, and to
prevent those for and from members of Parliament from being
charged. This part of the duty is transacted by the seniors in
the office, and each of whom can, on an average, charge in this
manner from sixty to seventy letters in a minute. When the
letters have been thus properly charged, they are deposited in
boxes, labelled by the names of the several post-towns. The
person who undertakes this branch of the duty must necessarily
be acquainted with the various villages and hamlets, names and
residences of the members of Parliament in the neighbourhood
of the towns in his respective division ; and which is done with a

POST-OFFICE 233

degree of accuracy that a stranger would scarcely believe possible
to attain by any thing less than an absolute local knowledge of
them. After seven o'clock, the amount of letters for each town
is then told up, and sent with them to the offices in the country ;
an account of it is reserved at the General Office, as a check on
the post-masters in their remittances. The bags of letters, after
being tied and sealed, are arranged and divided into the several
branches from the main-road, and given to the guards. This is
always completed by eight o'clock, summer and winter.

From 1^0,000 to 200,000 letters weekly pass through this
department only. On one occasion the amount of postage to the
town of Manchester only was upwards of 3OO/. The immense
number of letters that are nightly dispatched from hence, excite
sensations of astonishment in the mind of a bystander, that can
only be exceeded by the rapidity and accuracy with which every
part of the duty is managed. All the parts of this wonderful
piece of mechanism are upon the same expeditious and accurate
plan, as at the main source. Since the adoption of the system
recommended by Mr. Palmer, the letters are carried by coaches
distinguished by the name of mail-coaches, as already stated :
these are provided with a guard, well armed, and forwarded at
the rate of eight miles an hour, including all stoppages. The
time of working the mail is reckoned from the arrival of the
coach, and as five minutes are considered sufficient time for
changing horses, it is the duty of the guards to report those
deputies who neglect to have every thing in readiness for the due
forwarding of it.

Government contracts with the coach-owners merely for carry-
ing the mail ; the profits arising from carrying passengers and

234 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

parcels belong to the coach-keeper. The rapidity of this mode
of conveyance is unequalled in almost any other country : one
cannot easily conceive so complete a combination of various
interests to one purpose!

Mail-coaches start every night from London to

Dover, Exeter, Shrewsbury, Manchester, Norwich, Cambridge,

Poole, Taunton, Worcester, Leeds, Ipswich, Rye, and

Portsmouth, Gloucester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Brighton.
Chichester, Bristol, Chester, York,

Exclusive of several other coaches that start at earlier hours, and receive their
respective mails on the road ; such as Lincoln, Weymouth, &c. &c.

The inland charges of letters are regulated by the following

rates :

A single letter going any distance within

s.d. s.d. s.d. s. d. s.d.

15 miles ..04 50 miles ..06 120 miles ..08 230 miles . . o 10 400 miles . . i o
30 '.05 80 ..07170 ..09 300 ..on 500 ..ii

And so on in proportion, id. for every additional hundred miles.

The principal officers in the General Post-Office are,

The secretary and principal resident surveyor, Francis Freeling, Esq.
Superintending president of the inland office, Daniel Stow, Esq.

Comptroller of the foreign office, Arthur Stanhope, Esq.

Receiver-general, T. Mortlock, Esq. Accomptant-general, Hon. John Spencer.
Superintendent of mail-coaches, T. Hasker, Esq. Solicitor, A. Parkin, Esq.

Architect, J. T. Groves, Esq.
District surveyors, G. Hodgson, S. Woodcock, Chr. Saverland, George Western,

J. B. Bartlett, Leonard Aust, and A. Scott.

Inspector of dead and mis-sent letters, R. P. Barlow, Esq.

Accomptant of the by and cross-road letter-office, J. Wyldbore, Esq.

Superintendent of t]ie ship-letter-office, — Bullen, Esq.
The number of clerks in the offices, are 62 — messengers, 25— inland letter-carriers,

130 — supernumeraries to ditto, 30 — foreign letter-carriers, 28.
Mr. Anthony Todd, a man of singular abilities and generally beloved, was
secretary to the Post-Office sixty-one years: he died about twelve years ago.

POST-OFFICE 235

The expences of this grand establishment are stated to be
about two hundred thousand pounds per annum ; but the net
revenue, clear of all deductions and charges, placed to the credit
of the sinking fund for the year 1808, was upwards of one million
two hundred thousand pounds.

The Penny- Post, as it was termed for more than a century,
originated from the public spirit of a merchant named Dockwra
and a Mr. Murray, who, with much difficulty and great expence,
in the reign of Charles II. proceeded so far as to establish it;
but, strange and perverse as it may appear, every species of
opposition and misrepresentation attended its progress, and the
projectors had the mortification to find it adjudged to belong to
the Duke of York, as a branch of the General Post-Office : but
its public utility became so obvious, that it did not cease to exist
from that period till about the close of the last century, when
government took it under its own immediate controul ; and, in
order to meet the increased expences of every portion of the
undertaking, it was determined to double the charge ; and from
that period it has received the denomination of the Twopenny
Post. In order to facilitate the conveyance of letters and
packets, boys are employed, who ride small swift horses, to and
from the principal office in Gerard-street, Soho, where may be
seen a miniature representation of the proceedings of the General
Post-Office.

236

QUAKEKS' MEETING

THE society distinguished by the appellation of Quakers,
are known to each other by the name of Friends, a title
eminently characteristic of that relation, which, under
the Christian dispensation, man ought to bear to man. The
name of Quakers was given to them by Justice Bennet, of
Derby, in the year 1650; because the founder of it admonished
him, and those who were present with him, to tremble at the
name of the Lord. The founder of this society was George
Fox ; he was born of " honest and sufficient " parents, at
Dray ton, in Leicestershire, in the year 1624. In his youth he
manifested a seriousness not usual with persons of his age ; this
increased so much as he grew up to manhood, that when he was
about twenty, he conceived himself called upon to separate from
the world, and to devote himself entirely to religion. It should
be observed, that, previous to this period, the Protestant church
had been established in England, which many well-meaning
persons were not satisfied with, and had therefore formed them-
selves into a variety of religious sects ; others, disapproving these
sectaries and the establishment likewise, withdrew from any
visible church : these were prepared to follow any leader who
inculcated doctrines which coincided with their own preconceived
notions. Habit and education were necessarily wanting to render
the establishment of any mode of worship, about the period to
which we allude, either general or permanent. It does not
appear that George Fox made any great progress from the year

QUAKERS' MEETING 237

1643 to 1646, during which time he travelled through many parts
of England. In 1647 we find him inculcating the doctrine of
perfection. In the following year he became more public in his
preaching, and extended his travels. In the succeeding year
began his suffering, on account of the religious notions he
entertained, and in consequence of his mode of propagating
them. In the year 1652, he appears to have fully persuaded
himself, that he .had received a divine mission to preach and
instruct the people. To give but a very short detail of his life
would lead us beyond the limits of this publication. He con-
tinued his labours as a minister of the gospel till within two days
of his death. During this period he settled meetings in most
parts of the kingdom, and established the foundation of that
rigid system of discipline which characterizes the society of
Friends to this day. He travelled through England, Wales,
Scotland, and Ireland, visited the West Indies and America, and
several parts of the continent of Europe. He experienced during
his life, not only great fatigue of body, but great and unmerited
sufferings. He was born in July 1624, and died on the i3th
November, 1690, in his sixty-seventh year.

The religious tenets of this society are not sufficiently known,
and in the present age are not perhaps likely to be extended :
they oppose not only the vices and immoralities which are too
prevalent, but they forbid even amusements which education
and habits have taught us to consider innocent and harmless.
They divide even amusements into useful and hurtful, and strictly
forbid the latter. All games of chance are prohibited, as below
the dignity of man and his Christian character, as producing
an incitement of the passions unfavourable to religious im-

238 THE MICROCOSM OF LONDON

pressions, as tending to produce habits of gaming, and thereby
an alteration of the moral character. Music is likewise forbidden,
as the use of it is considered by them as almost inseparable from
its abuse. The theatre is expressly forbidden, for many reasons ;
as the drama professes to reform vice, and personates the
characters of others, as it inculcates false sentiments, and
weakens morality, as it disqualifies man for the pleasures of
religion as well as domestic enjoyments. Dancing is interdicted
principally as connected with public assemblies ; as, under the
circumstances usually connected with this amusement, it leads
to a frivolous levity and an excitement of the evil passions.
Novels are forbidden, as they tend to produce an affectation of
knowledge, a romantic spirit, and a perverted morality. Diver-
sions of the field are forbidden, because, if resorted to as such,
they are considered as a breach of moral law. An examination
of the discipline of Quakers, and the objects and forms of their
monthly, quarterly, and annual meetings for this purpose ; their
manner of administering the discipline, and the process and effect
of excommunication upon the society, would embrace too wide a
field. In their dress they are plain, and deviate less than any
other class from the simple style which distinguished their
ancestors from the extravagent modes of their contemporaries.
They have particularly defined the object of dress, and incor-
porated this article into their discipline. They are not less
plain and simple in their furniture, for similar reasons. In
their common intercourse with the world they have adopted the
singular pronoun thou, instead of the plural you, as more con-
formable to grammar, and "because the word you (vos)" says
William Penn, "was first ascribed, by way of flattery, to proud

QUAKERS' MEETING 239

popes and emperors, imitating the heathen's vain homage to their
gods, thereby ascribing a plural honour to a single person."
Another distinction peculiar to this society is, that they give no
titles of address or of honour, in which they make no exception
in favour of royalty ; and to the days and months they give
arithmetical names. The Quakers do not drink healths, and the
women never retire after dinner and leave the men drinking :
indeed sobriety seems to be peculiarly the virtue of the members
of this society.

The Quakers are distinguished by various other singularities.
In their public worship, where total silence prevails, unless any
brother or sister is moved by the divine spirit to pronounce a
mere word of exhortation, the congregation sit covered without
ceremony ; nay, they often break up the meeting without any
thing having been said. As they hold it unlawful for Christians
to swear at all, they are exempted by our courts of justice from
the necessity of taking an oath, and in such cases where that test
is required from the rest of their fellow-subjects, the affirmation
of a Quaker is held to be sufficient. Such is the aversion which
they profess from war and bloodshed, that they not only refuse
to bear arms, but have even been known to dismiss from their
communion some members who were engaged in the manufacture
or sale of them.

The society of Friends have several meeting-houses in this
metropolis, the chief of which are situated in Bishopsgate-street,
Gracechurch-street, St. Martin's-lane, St. John-street, Southwark,
and Ratcliffe.

END OF VOLUME THE SECOND.

ERRATA

Page 104, line 27, for Campden read Camden.
Page 1 12, line 14, for carries read carriages.
Page 125, line 9, for St. Benet's read St. Bennet's.

PLYMOUTH

WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON
PRINTERS

THE MICROCOSM
OF LONDON

LONDON IN MINIATUEE
VOL. II.

WITH 32 COLOUEED

PLATES BY
PUGIN & ROWLANDSON

Methuen and Co., London

ERRATA

Page 104, line 27, for Campden read Camden.
Page 112, line 14, for carries read carriages.
Page 125, line 9, for St. Benet's rea "

PLYMOUTH

WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON
PRINTERS

DA
683
M53
v.2

Microcosm of London

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